2018年12月大学英语六级阅读训练
Every day 25 milion U. S. children ride school buses. The safety record for these buses is much better than for passenger cars; but nevertheless, about 10 children are killed each year riding on large school buses, and nearly four times that number are killed outside buses in the loading zones. By and large, however, the nation's school children are transported to and from school safely.
Even though the number of school bus casualties(死亡人数) is not large, the safety of children is always of intense public concern. While everyone wants to see children transported safely, people are divided about what needs to be done—particularly whether seat belts should be mandatory (强制性的)•
Supporters of seat belts on school buses argue that seat belts are necessary not only to reduce death and injury, but also to teach children lessons about the importance of using them routinely in any moving vehicle. A side benefit, they point out, is that seat belts help keep children in their seats, away from the bus driver.
Opponents of seat belt installation suggest that children are already well protected by the school buses that follow the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) safety requirement set in 1977. They also believe that many children won't wear seat belts anyway, and that they may damage the belts or use them as weapons to hurt other children.
A new Research Council report on school bus safety suggests that there are alternate safety devices and procedures that may be more effective and less expensive. For example, the study committee suggested that raising seat backs four inches may have the same safety effectiveness as seat belts.
The report sponsored by the Department of Transportation at the request of Congress, reviews seat belts extensively while taking a broader look at safety in and around school buses.
1. Each year, children killed outside buses in the loading zones are about_______.
A. 10 B. 40
C. 30 D. 50
2. Which of these words is nearest in meaning to the words %22are divided%22 in Paragraph
A. disagree B. separate
C. arrange D. concern
3. According to the passage, who has the greatest degree of control of the school buses' %22safety%22?
A. A New Research Council.
B. The Department of Transportation.
C. The Medical Organizations.
D. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
4. It may be inferred from this passage that_______.
A. many of the opponents of seat belt installation are parents and officials of the Department of Transportation
B. proposal of seat belts on school buses would be seriously considered
C. an alternate safety device (raising seat backs four inches) may be taken into
consideration
D. The Department of Transportation may either take the idea of seat belts or other measures when it reviews the whole situation
5. The best title which expresses the idea of the passage is_______.
A. Making School Buses Even Safer for Children
B. Seat Belts Needed on School Buses
C. Alternate Safety Devices and Procedures
D. Safety in and around School Buses
参考答案
1. B 2. A 3. D 4. D 5. A
According to the latest research in the' United States of America, men and women talk such different languages that it is like people from two different cultures trying to communicate. Professor Deborah Tannen of Georgetown University, has noticed the difference in the style of boy's and girl's conversations from an early age. She says that little girls' conversation is less definite than boys' and expresses more doubts. Little boys use conversation to establish status with their listeners.
These differences continue into adult life, she says. In public conversations, men talk most and interrupt other speakers more. In private conversations, men and women speak in equal amounts—although they say things in a different style. Professor Tannen believes that, for woman, private talking is a way to establish and test intimacy. For men, private talking is a way to explore the power structure of a relationship.
Teaching is one job where the differences between men's and women's ways of talking show. When a man teaches a woman, says Professor Tannen, he wants to show that he has more knowledge, and hence more power in conversation. When a woman teaches another woman, however, she is more likely to take a sharing approach and to encourage her student to join in.
But Professor Tannen does not believe that women are naturally more helpful. She says women feel they achieve power by being able to help others. Although the research suggests men talk and interrupt people more than women, Professor Tannen says, women actually encourage this to happen because they believe it will lead to more intimacy and help to establish a relationship.
Some scientists who are studying speech think that the brain is pre¬programmed for language. As we are usually taught to speak by women, it seems likely that the brain must have a sexual bias(倾向性) in its programming,
otherwise male speech patterns would not arise at all.
1. In the opinion of the writer, women encourage men to talk because
A. it will lead to more intimacy and help to establish a relationship
B. it will help to establish status with their listeners
C. it will help to express more clearly
D. it will help to communicate better
2. There are_______in little girls' conversation than in boys'.
A. fewer doubts B. more demands
C. more doubts D. fewer uncertainties
3. Some scientists believe that brain is pre-programmed for language. The word %22pre programmed%22 means_______.
A. programmed already B. programmed before one is born
C. programmed early D. programmed by women
4. In private conversation, women speak
A. the same things as men B. less than men
C. more than men D. as much as men
5. The theme of this article is _______.
A. women are naturally more helpful
B. men and women talk different languages
C. men talk most and interrupt other speakers more
D. little girls' conversation is less definite
参考答案
1. A 2. C 3. B 4. D 5. B