Ⅳ．阅读理解。阅读短文，根据短文的内容从A、B、C、D四个选项中，选择一个正确答案，并填在答题纸相应的位置上。(本大题共10小题，每小题2分，共20分)
Read the two passages and answer the questions. (20 points)
Passage 1
Now let us look at how we read. When we read a printed text, our eyes move across a page in short, jerky movement. We recognize words usually when our eyes are still when they fixate. Each time they fixate, we see a group of words. This is known as the recognition span or the visual span. The length of time of which the eyes stop—the duration of the fixation—varies considerably from person to person. It also varies within any one person according to his purpose in reading and his familiarity with the text. Furthermore, it can be affected by such factors as lighting and tiredness.
Unfortunately, in the past, many reading improvement courses have concentrated too much on how our eyes move across the printed page. As a result of this misleading emphasis on the purely visual aspects of reading, numerous exercises have been devised to train the eyes to see more words at one fixation. For instance, in some exercises, words are flashed on to a screen for, say, a tenth or a twentieth of a second. One of the exercises has required students to fix their eyes on some central point, taking in the words on either side. Such word patterns are often constructed in the shape of rather steep pyramids so the reader takes in more and more words at each successive fixation. All these exercises are very clever, but it’s one thing to improve a person’s ability to see words and quite another thing to improve his ability to read a text efficiently. Reading requires the ability to understand the relationship between words. Consequently, for these reasons, many experts have now begun to question the usefulness of eye training, especially since any approach which trains a person to read isolated words and phrases would seem unlikely to help him in reading a continuous text.
41. The time of the recognition span can be affected by the following facts except _______.
A. one’s familiarity with the text B. one’s purpose in reading
C. the length of a group of words D. lighting and tiredness
42. The author may believe that reading _______.
A. requires a reader to take in more words at each fixation
B. requires a reader to see words more quickly
C. demands an deeply-participating mind
D. demands more mind than eyes
43. What does the author mean by saying “but it’s one thing to improve a person’s ability to see words and quite another thing to improve his ability to read a text efficiently” in the second paragraph?
A. The ability to see words is not needed when an efficient reading is conducted.
B. The reading exercises mentioned can’t help to improve both the ability to see and to comprehend words.
C. The reading exercises mentioned can’t help to improve an efficient reading.
D. The reading exercises mentioned has done a great job to improve one’s ability to see words.
44. Which of the following is NOT true?
A. The visual span is a word or a group of words we see each time.
B. Many experts began to question the efficiency of eye training.
C. The emphasis on the purely visual aspects is misleading.
D. The eye training will help readers in reading a continuous text.
45. The tone of the author in writing this article is
A. critical B. neutral
C. pessimistic D. optimistic
Passage 2
Upon reaching an appropriate age (usually between 18 and 21 years), children are encouraged, but not forced, to “leave the nest” and begin an independent life. After children leave home they often find social relationship and financial support outside the family. Parents do not arrange marriages for their children, nor do children usually ask permission of their parents to get married. Romantic love is most often the basis for marriage in the United States; young adults meet their future spouses (配偶) through other friends, at jobs, and in organizations and religious institutions. Although children choose their own spouses, they still hope their parents will approve of their choices.
In many families, parents feel that children should make major life decisions by themselves. A parent may try to influence a child to follow a particular profession but the child is free to choose another career. Sometimes children do precisely the opposite of what their parents wish in order to assert their independence. A son may deliberately decide not to go into his father’s business because of a fear that he will lose his autonomy in his father’s workplace. This independence from parents is not an indication that parents and children do not love each other. Strong love between parents and children is universal and this is no exception in the American family. Coexisting with such love in the American family are cultural values of self-reliance and independence.
46. The writer discusses the marriage of young adults in order to show which of the following?
A. They enjoy the freedom of choosing their spouses.
B. They want to win the permission of their parents.
C. They have a strong desire to become independent.
D. They want to challenge the authority of their parents.
47. Most young adults in the U.S. get married for the sake of_______.
A. love B. financial concern
C. their parents D. family background
48. Based on the passage, it can be assumed that _______.
A. American young adults are likely to follow the suit of their parents
B. most American people never make major decisions for their children
C. American young adults possess cultural values of independence
D. once a young person steps into his twenties, he will leave his home permanently
49. A son is unwilling to work in his father’s business mainly because _______.
A. he wishes to make full use of what he has learnt in school
B. he wants to prove his independence
C. he wishes to do the opposite of what his parents approve of
D. he wants to show his love for his parents
50. The subject matter of this selection is_______.
A. family values B. marriage arrangements
C. the pursuit of a career D. decision making
