英语四级预测试卷：阅读理解(2)

　　Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. 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 Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.

　　Passage One

　　Questions 52 to 56 are based on the following passage.

　　Television is often viewed as an anti intellectual medium. But truly clever people know how to use even the most unpromising material, and that is what Val Curtis and her colleagues at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine have done. They employed the mass market appeal of TV to test a long held, but unproven, hypothesis（假设）: that the emotion of disgust evolved to protect people from disease.

　　They set up their experiment in October 2007, by publicizing it on a BBC program called "Human Instincts". Viewers were invited to visit a website and, after giving a few biographical（个人介绍的）details, to view a series of 20 pictures and rate each of them for disgustingness on a scale of one to five. They were also asked to choose, from a list of possible candidates, with whom they would least like to share a toothbrush.

　　The results showed that in all seven pairs, the disease distinct pictures were more disgusting than their counterparts. For things like the apparent depiction of bodily fluids, or of a face that had been "enhanced" with spots, that may come as no surprise. But a crowded railway carriage was more distinguishing than an empty one, and a louse more disgusting than a wasp.

　　These last results confirmed Dr Curtis's suspicion that disgust is not, as many disgust researchers believe, just a way of avoiding eating disease bearing materials. Rather, it extends to threats that might be contagious（传染性的）. Indeed, one result of the study was to show that the young are easier to disgust than the old. Another result was that women are more easily disgusted than men. Both of these make evolutionary sense. The young have more reproductive potential than the old, so should be more careful about what they touch and eat. And women are usually burdened with bringing up the children, so have to be disgusted on their offspring's behalf, as well as their own.

　　The results of the toothbrush study made similar sense. Strangers are more likely to carry new bacteria than acquaintances. Hence, of the available choices of toothbrush partner, a postman came off worst, and a lover best. A brush notionally belonging to a weatherman was, however, preferred to the boss's. Clearly the British feel more intimacy with the former than the later. Perhaps it might have been instructive to include a famous television personality among the choices?

　　52. In the first paragraph television is mentioned to    .
　　A) prove that what some intellectuals had claimed is wrong
　　B) show that TV is an essential part of British people's daily life
　　C) demonstrate that mass media is a very profitable industry
　　D) introduce the media through which the survey was advertised

　　53. The experiment is chiefly done by    .
　　A) watching the TV program called "Human Instincts" and filling out feedback forms
　　B) visiting different websites and making matches between pictures and numbers
　　C) rating various photos with numbers and selecting from a choice list
　　D) filling in biographical details and choosing a toothbrush

　　54. Which of the following is true about the result of the experiment?
　　A) A spotted face is more disgusting than a picture of bodily fluids.
　　B) A full packed subway is more disgusting than a louse.
　　C) A bleeding face is the most disgusting one.
　　D) A wasp makes people feel better than a louse.

　　55. The results of the experiment make evolutionary sense in that     .
　　A) old people are less likely to produce goods for the society than the young
　　B) people's emotion of disgust is often related to the safety of their children
　　C) women are more likely to bring up children independent of men's help
　　D) old people are more likely to be disgusted than women

　　56. The results of the toothbrush experiment show that      .
　　A) a boss is normally less clean and healthy than a weatherman
　　B) a postman is often dirtier than a lover
　　C) a public figure is often more popular than a boss in Britain
　　D) a famous television personality is the best toothbrush partner

　　Passage Two

　　Questions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.

　　When it comes to health, the poor are doubly cursed. Not only are they more prone to deadly infectious diseases than the rich, but they have far less access to the means of improvement. Twenty years ago, Paul Farmer, an American doctor and anthropologist（人类学者）, set out to do something about this. Amid the political turmoil（混乱）and poverty of rural Haiti, he created a community based health care system called Zanmi Lasante, or Partners in Health. It not only delivers appropriate, affordable medical treatment to thousands of poor people, but goes beyond the clinic to address the social causes making them sick and keeping them from getting better.

　　As Dr. Farmer argues, improving the health of the poor is not just a medical challenge, but a question of human rights. Tackling the inequality, racism, sexism and other forms of "structural violence" which oppress the poor is as critical as extending the drugs. Or as his Haiti patients put it, medicine without food is like washing one's hands and drying them in the dirt.

　　Unfortunately, Dr. Farmer's powerful message is often weakened by his book's academic tone. It does, however, scream out in passages describing the human face of "structural violence". It is these personal stories that make Dr. Farmer's anger at such "stupid deaths" so compelling.

　　The good doctor's motives and methods are better described in Mountains Beyond Mountains. This biography by Tracy Kidder traces Dr. Farmer from his unconventional upbringing and unusual education, shuttling (来回穿梭于) between the shacks of central Haiti and the halls of Harvard Medical School, to his later work around the world. Though well written, Mr. Kidder's book also makes for uncomfortable reading. The author is clearly close to his subject, having traveled with Dr. Farmer from the green poverty of Haiti to the tubercular whiteness of Russia. Too close, perhaps. The biographer seems to be seeking his subject's approval, rather than the other way round. Mr. Kidder writes, rather disturbingly, about his fear of disappointing Dr. Farmer, his own pain at wounding him with a critical remark and his relief at the doctor's forgiveness.

　　When Mr. Kidder's health falls, this dependence becomes all the more intense. But rather than compromise the book's equity（公正）, this intimacy serves to highlight Dr. Farmer's admirable, yet ultimately irritating, character. As Mr. Kidder observes, "Farmer wasn't put on earth to make anyone feel comfortable, except those lucky enough to be his patients or those unlucky enough to need him."

　　57. What makes the "Partners in Health" system unique compared with traditional hospitals?
　　A) It makes attempts to help the poor on a social level.
　　B) It is aimed at treating poor people for free.
　　C) It is designed to help the poor rise from poverty.
　　D) It offers community help to those who are poor.

　　58. What can be inferred from the last sentence of the second paragraph?
　　A) Hands should not be dried in the dirt after washing.
　　B) Medicine is also needed for cleaning hands.
　　C) Medicine is not a long term cure to their poor health.
　　D) Food can cure their disease better than any medicine.

　　59. The disadvantage of Dr. Farmer's book seems to be that.
　　A) the plots in the book are not attractive enough
　　B) the way he tells the stories is not compelling enough
　　C) the anger he expresses at "stupid deaths" is too strong
　　D) the tone is not strong enough to arouse people's attention

　　60. Mr. Kidder's book also makes for uncomfortable reading because    .
　　A) Mr. Kidder himself has never been involved in Dr. Farmer's life
　　B) Mr. Kidder is afraid of making true comments on Dr. Farmer
　　C) Mr. Kidder's emotions prevent him from independent writing
　　D) Mr. Kidder is always waiting for Dr. Farmer's forgiveness

　　61. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that    .
　　A) Dr. Farmer only helped those who are lucky enough
　　B) Dr. Farmer may have severely criticized the society
　　C) Dr. Farmer was not actually making his patients comfortable
　　D) Dr. Farmer's job is not to make people comfortable