2018年学位英语考试自测习题及答案（10）_第2页

　　Part II Reading Comprehension (40 points)

　　Directions: There are 4 passages in this part. Each of the passages is followed by 5 questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are 4 choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the best one and mark your answer on the ANSWER SHEET with a single line through the center.

　　Passage One

　　Are some people born clever and others born stupid? Or is intelligence developed by our environment and our experience? Strangely enough, the answer to these questions is yes. To some extent our intelligence is given us at birth, and no amount of special education can make a genius out of a child born with intelligence. On the other hand, a child who lives in a boring environment will develop his intelligence less than one who lives in rich and varied surroundings. Thus the limits of a person’s intelligence are fixed at birth, whether or not he reached those limits will depend on his environment. This view, now held by most experts, can be supported in a number of ways.

　　It is easy to show that intelligence is to some extent something we are born with. The closer the blood relationship between two people, the closer they are likely to be in intelligence. Thus if we take two unrelated people at random from the population it is likely that their degree of intelligence will be completely different. If, on the other hand, we take two identical twins, they will very likely be as intelligent as each other. Relations like brothers and sisters, parents and children, usually have similar intelligence, and this clearly suggests that intelligence depends on birth.

　　Imagine now that we take two identical twins and put them in different environments. We might send one, for example, to a university and the other to a factory where the work is boring. We would soon find differences in intelligence developing, and this indicates that environment as well as birth plays a part. This conclusion is also suggested by the fact that people who live in close contact with each other, but who are not related at all are likely to have similar degree of intelligence.

　　16. The writer is in favor of the view that man’s intelligence is given to him __________.

　　A. at birth

　　B. through education

　　C. both at birth and through education

　　D. more at birth than through education

　　17. If a child is born with low intelligence he can __________.

　　A. never become a genius

　　B. still become a genius if he should be given special education

　　C. exceed his intelligence limits in rich surroundings

　　D. not exceed his intelligence limits even in rich surroundings

　　18. In the second paragraph “if we take two unrelated people at random from the population--” means if we __________.

　　A. pick any two persons

　　B. take out two different persons

　　C. choose two persons who are relative

　　D. choose two persons with different intelligence

　　19. The example of the twins going to a university and to a factory separately shows __________.

　　A. the importance of their intelligence

　　B. the role of environment on intelligence

　　C. the importance of their position

　　D. the part that birth places

　　20. The best title of this passage can be __________.

　　A. Surroundings

　　B. Intelligence

　　C. Dependence on Environment

　　D. Effect of Education

　　Passage Two

　　Before the grass has thickened on the roadside verges and leaves have started growing on the trees it is a perfect time to look around and see just how dirty Britain has become. The pavements are stained with chewing gum that has been spat out and the gutters are full of discarded fast food cartons. Years ago I remember travelling abroad and being saddened by the plastic bags, discarded bottles and soiled nappies at the edge of every road. Nowadays, Britain seems to look at least as bad. What has gone wrong?

　　The problem is that the rubbish created by our increasingly mobile lives lasts a lot longer than before. If it is not cleared up and properly thrown away, it stays in the undergrowth for years; a semi-permanent reminder of what a tatty little country we have now.

　　Firstly, it is estimated that 10 billion plastic bags have been given to shoppers. These will take anything from 100 to 1,000 years to rot. However, it is not as if there is no solution to this. A few years ago, the Irish government introduced a tax on non-recyclable carrier bags and in three months reduced their use by 90%. When he was a minister, Michael Meacher attempted to introduce a similar arrangement in Britain. The plastics industry protested, of course. However, they need not have bothered; the idea was killed before it could draw breath, leaving supermarkets free to give away plastic bags.

　　What is clearly necessary right now is some sort of combined effort, both individual and collective, before it is too late. The alternative is to continue sliding downhill until we have a country that looks like a vast municipal rubbish tip. We may well be at the tipping point. Yet we know that people respond to their environment. If things around them are clean and tidy, people behave cleanly and tidily. If they are surrounded by squalor, they behave squalidly. Now, much of Britain looks pretty squalid. What will it look like in five years?

　　21. The writer says that it is a good time to see Britain before the trees have leaves because

　　A. Britain looks perfect.

　　B. you can see Britain at its dirtiest.

　　C. you can see how dirty Britain is now.

　　D. the grass has thickened on the verges.

　　22. According to the writer, things used to be___________.

　　A. worse abroad.

　　B. the same abroad.

　　C. better abroad.

　　D. worse, but now things are better abroad.

　　23. To solve the problem of plastic bags, Michael Meacher__________

　　A. followed the Irish example with a tax on plastic bags.

　　B. tried to follow the Irish example with a tax on plastic bags.

　　C. made no attempt to follow the Irish example with a tax on plastic bags.

　　D. had problems with the plastics industry who weren't bothered about the tax.

　　24. As to what can be done, the writer thinks __________

　　A. it is too late to do anything.

　　B. we are at the tipping point.

　　C. there is more than one way to solve the problem.

　　D. we need to work together to solve the problem.

　　25. The writer thinks that__________

　　A. people are squalid.

　　B. people behave according to what they see around them.

　　C. people are clean and tidy.

　　D. people are like a vast municipal rubbish tip.