2014年下半年大学英语四级考试阅读提升训练（七）

大学英语四级阅读理解练习七

　　Directions: There are 4 passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the centre.

　　Questions 1 to 5 are based on the following passage:

　　Anybody over 70 who was brought up in a country village or town finds the social customs of young people today strangely familiar. In the 1800's or 1890's, it was normal to have boys and girls pair off in a more or less stable fashion, and such pairing often ended in marriage.

　　Why have the younger people reverted so sharply to the ways of an earlier era and simpler society? There seems to be no clear-cut answer. The cause of the change has often been considered to be the Second World War, but this reversion was well under way before 1939. The new social customs may be related to the Great Depression(经济大萧条)when a boy putting out money for a girl on dance, movies, or the like wanted to be sure of some return on his investment. It is also true that the fiercely competitive social life of the twenties meant that a popular girl had a very good time indeed.

　　But the majority of girls were not popular. They dreaded being neglected in parties. It may be that the less popular girls were the ones who slowly created the present democratic system, under which any girl with a steady(情侣)is just as well off as any other girl with a steady. Since each boy wants a steady, too, and since the number of boys and girls are about equal, everybody seems better off (较自在，较幸福)at present. On the other hand, girls would insist that the new system was created by the boys who are aggressive, possessive, and jealous of all rivals.

　　1. The practice of going steady (仅与同一异性经常约会)is similar to a custom first popular ________.

　　A) after the Second World War

　　B) before 1900

　　C) in the 1920's

　　D) during the Depression

　　2. According to the article, the question "Why have our young people reverted so sharply to the ways of an earlier era and simpler society?"

　　A) can not be answered definitely

　　B) can be answered definitely

　　C) cannot be answered

　　D) is definitely answered in the article

　　3. The Second World War cannot be regarded as the cause of the change because ________.

　　A) the Second World War began before 1939

　　B) the custom of going steady started before 1939

　　C) the Second World War changed American customs

　　D) during the War, going steady was difficult

　　4. According to the author, going steady may have been revived during the Great Depression because ________.

　　A) social life became more competitive

　　B) boys could not afford to take girls to dances

　　C) girls became more independent

　　D) the practice was regarded by young men as a wise investment

　　5.According to the author, the custom of going steady is better for ________.

　　A) boys

　　B) the majority

　　C) girls

　　D) both boys and girls