2018年上半年成人学位英语考前模拟试题及答案（19）_第2页

　　Passage 4：

　　Many of us believe that a person‘s mind becomes less active as he grows older. But this is not true， according to Dr Jarvik， professor of psychiatry at the University of California. She has studied the mental functioning of aging persons for several years. For example， one of her studies concerns 136 pairs of identical twins， who were first examined when they were already 60 years old. As Dr Jarvik continued the study of the twins into their 70s and 80s， their minds did not generally decline as was expected.

　　However， there was some decline in their psycho-motor speed. This means that it took them longer to accomplish mental tasks than it used to. But when speed was not a factor， they lost very little intellectual ability over the years. In general， Dr Jarvik‘s studies have shown that there is no decline in knowledge or reasoning ability. This is true not only with those in their 30s and 40s， but with those in their 60s and 70s as well.

　　It is true that older people themselves often complain that their memory is not as good as it once was. However， much of what we call “loss of memory” is not that at all. There usually was incomplete learning in the first place. For example， the older person perhaps had trouble hearing， or poor vision， or inattention， or was trying to learn the new thing at too fast a pace. In the cases where the older person‘s mind really seems to decay， it is not necessarily a sign of decay due to old age. Often it is simply a sign of a depressed emotional state.

　　16.This passage is mainly about ____.

　　A) how Dr Jarvik studied mental functioning of the twins.

　　B) what caused mental decay.

　　C) the results evidenced by Dr Jarvik‘s studies.

　　D) the difference between middle – aged and older persons

　　答案： C

　　解析： 大意题。本文主要向读者传达了人的记忆和分析能力不是随着年龄的增大而消退，主要是通过。Dr Jarvik的研究成果来显示的。其它选项不是文章的主旨意思。

　　17. The word “psychiatry” in paragraph 1 most probably means ____.

　　A) the study of human behavior.

　　B) the study of disease of the mind.

　　C) the study of problems with aging persons.

　　D) the study of twins growth.

　　答案： B

　　解析： 大意题。同上题的解释。主要的是disease of the mind和年龄的区别。

　　18. A long – term study of 136 pairs of twins showed that ____.

　　A) they lost a little ability to reason over the years.

　　B) the only factor which declined over the years was their speed with which to perform mental tasks.

　　C) their memory was not as good as it had once been.

　　D) their minds became is not considered as they grew older.

　　答案： B

　　解析：　细节和推论。文章的第一段最后一句和第2段的前两句都是说明这样的一个实验说明研究结果。即，仅仅和速度有关系，课文的下面部分也相应作了解释。

　　19. Which of the following is not considered as an instanced of “incomplete learning”?

　　A) Poor hearing.

　　B) Bad eyesight.

　　C) Lack of attention.

　　D) The attempt to learn too many new things at the same time

　　答案： D

　　解析：最后一句的中间部分For example， the older person perhaps had trouble hearing， or poor vision， or inattention， or was trying to learn the new thing at too fast a pace没有提到D项的内容。D项仅仅说的是心理原因造成的结果。

　　20. What we call mental decay is usually a sign of ____.

　　A) a low – spirited state.

　　B) a worsening state of health.

　　C) old age.

　　D) nervous tension

　　答案： A

　　解析：　细节题。文章的最后两句都是说明这个问题a sign of a depressed emotional state是说明的mental因素。

　　Passage 5：

　　Leaving a tip in a restaurant has become a custom in most countries. The word “tip” came from the Latin word “Gratis”， meaning free. Tips are defined as small gifts of money for service in addition to the payment due.

　　Believe it or not， the practice of tipping has a little interesting history. The custom can be traced back to the Roman era. The Romans were the first civilization to use coins. It is possible that the word “tip” came from the word stipend. Strips in Latin means gift. A more common belief is tips were first given in the 18th century England. A popular coffee house equipped each table with a coin box. The label of each box read： “To insure promptness.” Dropping a coin into the box would result in quick service. Also， the first letter of each word is T.I.P. – tip.

　　In America and Europe it is customary to tip anywhere from 10% to 20%. Taxi drivers， waiters in restaurants， waitresses in lounges， hotel boys， doormen， and disco coat check girls， all expect a little something. People working at these jobs usually receive a low basic salary. Tips are quite necessary to supplement their income. Today most people decide the size of tip according to the quality of the service. If the service is good ，most people are quite happy to leave a tip.

　　The world is full of big spenders and people who act like big spenders. Surprisingly， rich people are not “big tippers” unless entertaining guests. It is no use showing off if nobody is there to watch， right? Many throw money around like water to impress a group of friends out for an evening “on the town”。 People who usually cannot afford it are the biggest tippers in front of their friends. It is all part of the show to prove a certain level of social success. Nobody wants to look cheap， stingy， or poor in front of their friends. Over-tipping also gives some satisfaction just to see the waiter‘s reaction.

　　For whatever reason， tipping will continue to be practiced in most countries. Tipping does have its place in our modern society. It will also remain a somewhat personal expression of gratitude.

　　21. What is the meaning of the word “gratis” according to the passage?

　　A) free of obligation B) free of charge C) plenty in time D) free from tax

　　答案：A

　　解析：B是免于起诉C是充足的时间D是免于征税，A是责任义务的免除。根据文章对消费的介绍选择A相比较妥帖。

　　22. When were tips first given in England

　　A) in the 17th century B) in the 18th century

　　C) in the 19th century D) in the 20th century

　　答案： B

　　解析： 细节题，第2段的第四句中A more common belief is tips were first given in the 18th century England其它的选项是错误的

　　23. Which of the following statements is true?

　　A) Most people think that tips originated in England.

　　B) Most people think that tips originated in Rome

　　C) Today most people decide the size of tips according to their mood.

　　D) According to the author， the practice of tipping does not have an interesting history

　　答案： A

　　解析： 推论题。第2段的。2句是说这个习惯追溯到罗马但是大家普遍认为的是在英国，理由同上。

　　24. How to understand the sentence “The world is full of big spenders and people who act like big spenders.”?

　　A) All people in the world have a lot of money.

　　B) No one in the world has a lot of money.

　　C) Many people spend a large sum of money every day.

　　D) The number of people who either have a lot of money or who pretend to be rich is great.

　　答案： D

　　解析： A、B明显是错误的!C和文章没有联系，主要是说一些有钱的和貌似有钱的人在消费上面的表现。C不能体现出该要表达的含义。

　　25. Why are people who cannot afford tipping the biggest tippers in front of their friends?

　　A) Because they have a lot of money.

　　B) Because they sympathize with taxi drivers， waiters in restaurants， waitresses in lounges and disco coat check girls， etc.

　　C) Because of their vanity.

　　D) None of the above.

　　答案： C

　　解析： vanity是虚荣奢华的含义，最后2段主要说。 It is all part of the show to prove a certain level of social success. Nobody wants to look cheap， stingy， or poor in front of their friends是说没有钱人的虚荣!C应该是最合适的答案。