大学英语四级考试：词汇解析第四期

　　According to a survey,which was based on the responses of over 1800,000 students,today's traditional-age college freshmen are "more materialistic and less altruistic" than at any time in the 17 years of the poll.

　　Not surprising in thes hard times,the student's major objective " is to be financially well off. Less important than ever is developing a meaningful philosophy of life." It follows then that today the most popular course is not literature or history but accounting.

　　Interest in teaching ,social service and the " altruistic" fields is at a low. On the other hand, enrolment in businness programs,engineering and computer science is way up.

　　While it's true that we all need a career, it is equally true that our civilization has accumulated an incredible amout of knowledge in fields far removed from our own and that we are better for our understanding of thes other contributions - be they scientific or artistic.It is equally true that, in studying the diverse wisdom of others,we learn how to think.More important, perhaps,education teaches us to see the connections between things,as well as to see beyond our immediate needs.

　　Weekly we read of unions who went on strike for higher wages,only to drive their employer out of bussiness.No company;no job.How shortsighted in the log run!

　　But the most important argument for a broad education is that in studying the accumulated wisdom of the ages,we improve our moral sense.

　　1. According to the author's observation,college students ______________.

　　A. have never been so materialistic as today

　　B. have never been so interested in the arts

　　C. have never been so financially well of as today

　　D. have never attached so much importance to moral sense

　　2. The students' criteria for selecting majors today have much to do with ________.

　　A. the infuences of their instructors

　　B. the financial goals they seek in life

　　C. their own interpretations of the courses

　　D. their understanding of the contributions of others

　　3. By saying " While it's true that ... be they screntific or artistic " (Lines 1-3,Para.5),the author means that___________.

　　A. business management should be included in educational programs

　　B. human wisdom has accumulated at an extraordinarily high speed

　　C. human intellectual development has reached new heights

　　D. the importance of a broad education should not be overlooked

　　4. Studying the diverse wisdom of others can _____________.

　　A. create varying artistic interests

　　B. help people see things in their right perspective

　　C. help improve connections among people

　　D. regulate the behavior of modern people

　　5. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

　　A. Businessmen absorbed in their career are narrow-minded.

　　B. Managers often find it hard to tell right from wrong

　　C. People engaged in technical jobs lead a more rewarding life

　　D. Career seekers should not focus on immediate interests only.

　　答案:

　　A B D B D

　　well off : 富裕

　　in the long run: 从长远看,终究

　　[扩展]: in the short run 在不久的将来 ;on the run 忙碌,奔波,奔跑,逃跑;run away with 战胜,偷走,与...私奔,轻易地赢(比赛等)

　　全文翻译：

　　一项对超过18.8万学生所做的调查结果表明,今天那些处于传统年龄的大一学生在17年来的名意测验中是最追求物质享受、最自私的。

　　在这样的困难时期，学生的主要目标是“经济上的宽裕，培养积极的人生观比以往任何时候都更受忽略”，这毫不奇怪。那么，顺理成章地，现在最受欢迎的课程不是文学或历史，而是会计学。考试网

　　对教学、社会服务和“利他性的”领域的兴趣也很低。另一方面，商务课程、工程学和计算机科学报名的人数则直线上升。

　　人人都学要职业，这勿庸置疑，但同样勿庸置疑的是，在一些我们非常陌生的领域，我们的文明积累了数量惊人的知识，不管这些贡献是科技还是艺术方面的，我们最好还是能理解。同样毋庸置疑的还有，学习他人的各种智慧时，我们学会怎样去思考。更重要的也许是，教育使我们看到事物之间的联系，看到直接需求以外的东西。

　　每周我们都读到一些工会为了加薪而罢工，结果却迫使老板停工。没有公司，就没有工作。从长远来看，目光多么短浅啊!

　　全面教育重要的一个理由是，在学习历史积聚起来的智慧时，我们提高自己的道德意识