2010年12月英语四六级考试阅读专项练习(16)

When a person feels low, blue, or down in the clumps, it usually means he has been hurt, disappointed, or saddened by something that causes a confused and listless feeling. There is __11__ a type of music called "the blue", a low, mournful, sad sound to __12__these universal human feelings.
　　Depression is another name for this mood. Feeling depressed is a normal and natural __13__ to experiences of loss, failure, and undeserved bad luck. Indeed, it has been pointed out that without depression, we would __14__ much of the world's great tragic literature, music, and art.
　　In some cases, however, depression becomes something more than just __15__ feelings of blues or letdown. A large number of people suffer from what psychiatrists call "depressive illness. " Depressive illness is more __16__ and lasts longer than common listless feelings. Sometimes a serious __17__ of depression can begin with the loss of a loved one or a change of job. Many times, in very__18__ cases, there doesn't seem to be any circumstance serious enough to have caused the depression.
　　Some psychiatrists suggest that the key feature in depression is change. The person becomes different from the way before the onset of his depression. He may even become the opposite of his usual self. There are many examples: the businessman who becomes a wanderer, the mother who wants to __19__ her children and herself. Instead of seeking satisfaction and pleasure, the depressed person__20__ it.
　　A. ever B. escape C. intense D. response
　　E. avoids F. even G. express H. realization
　　I. severe J. lessen K. dense L. period
　　M. harm N. lack O. normal

　　Social change is more likely to occur in societies where there is a mixture of different kinds of people than in societies where people are similar in many ways. The simple reason for this is that there are more different ways of looking at things present in the first kind of society. There are more ideas, more disagreements in interest, and more groups and organizations with different beliefs. In addition, there is usually a greater worldly interest and greater tolerance in mixed societies. All these factors tend to promote social change by opening more areas of life to decision. In a society where people are quite similar in many ways, there are fewer occasions for people to see the need or the opportunity for change because everything seems to be the same. And although conditions may not be satisfactory, they are at least customary and undisputed.
　　Within a society, social changes is also likely to occur more frequently and more readily in the material aspects of the culture than in the non-material, for example, in technology rather than in values; in what has been learned later in life rather than what was learned early; in the less basic and less emotional aspects of society than in their opposites; in the simple elements rather than in the complex ones; in form rather than in substance; and in elements that are acceptable to the culture rather than in strange elements.
　　Furthermore, social change is easier if it is gradual. For example, it comes more readily in human relations on a continuous scale rather than one with sharp difference. This is one reason why change has not come more quickly to Black Americans as compared to other American minorities, because of the sharp difference in appearance between them and their white counterparts.
　　21.
　　The passage is mainly discussing .
　　A. the necessity of social change
　　B. certain factors that determine the ease with which social changes occur
　　C. two different societies
　　D. certain factors that promote social change
　　22.
　　One of the factors that tend to promote social change is .
　　A. joint interest
　　B. different points of view
　　C. less emotional people
　　D. advanced technology
　　23.
　　According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
　　A. Social change tends to meet with more difficulty in basic and emotional aspects of society.
　　B. Disagreement with and argument about conditions tend to slow down social change.
　　C. Social change is more likely to occur in the material aspect of society.
　　D. Social change is less likely to occur in what people learned when they were young.
　　24. The expression "greater tolerance "(Para. 1) refers to_______.
　　A. greater willingness to accept social change
　　B. quicker adaptation to changing circumstances
　　C. more respect for different beliefs and behavior
　　D. greater readiness to agree to different opinions and ideas
　　25. Social change is less likely to occur in a society where people are quite similar in many ways because_______. v
　　A. people there have got so accustomed to their conditions that they seldom think it necessary to change
　　B. people there have identical needs that can be satisfied without much difficulty
　　C. people there are easy to please
　　D. people there are less disputed
　　Anne Whitney, a sophomore (大学二年级学生) at Colorado State University, first had a problem taking tests when she began college. "I was always well prepared for my tests. Sometimes I studied for weeks before a test. Yet I would go in to take the test, only to find I could not answer the questions correctly. I would blank out because of nervousness and fear. I couldn't think of the answer. My low grades on the tests did not show what I knew to the teacher. " Another student in biology had similar experiences. He said, "My first chemistry test was very difficult. Then, on the second test, I sat down to take it, and I was so nervous that I was shaking. My hands were moving up and down so quickly that it was hard to hold my pencil. I knew the material and I knew the answers. Yet I couldn't even write them down!"
　　These two young students were experiencing something called test anxiety. Because a student worries and is uneasy about a test, his or her mind does not work as well as it usually does. The student cannot write or think clearly because of the extreme tension and nervousness. Although poor grades are often a result of poor study habits, sometimes test anxiety causes the low grades. Recently, test anxiety has been recognized as a real problem, not just an excuse or a false explanation of lazy students.
　　Special university advising courses try to help students. In these courses, advisors try to help students by teaching them how to manage test anxiety. At some universities, students take tests to measure their anxiety. If the tests show (heir anxiety is high, the students can take short courses to help them deal with (heir tensions. These courses teach students how to relax their bodies. Students are trained to become calm in very tense situations. By controlling their nervousness, they can let their minds work at ease. Learned information then comes out without difficulty on a test.
　　An expert • at the University of California explains, " With almost all students, relaxation and less stress are felt after taking our program. Most of them experience better control during their tests. Almost all have some improvement. With some, the improvement is very great. "
　　26. To "blank out" is probably______.
　　A. to be like a blanket B. to be sure of an answer
　　C. to be unable to think clearly D. to show knowledge to the teacher
　　27. Poor grades are usually the result of______.
　　A. poor sleeping habit B. laziness
　　C. lack of sleep D. inability to form good study habits
　　28. Test anxiety has been recognized as______.
　　A. an excuse for laziness B. the result of poor study habits
　　C. a real problem D. something that cannot be changed
　　29. To deal with this problem, students say they want to______.
　　A. take a short course on anxiety
　　B. read about anxiety

　　C. be able to manage or understand their anxiety
　　D. take tests to prove they are not anxious
　　30. A University of California advisor said______.
　　A. all students could overcome the anxiety after taking a special test anxiety program
　　B. almost all students felt less stress after taking a University of California advising course
　　C. students found it difficult to improve even though they had taken a special test anxiety course
　　D. students found it easy to relax as soon as they entered a University of California advising course
　　II. F 12. G 13. D 14. N 15. O 16. C 17. L 18. I 19. M 20. E 21. B 22. B 23. B 24. C 25. A 26. C 27. D 28. C 29. A 30. B