Section Ⅱ Reading Comprehension

Part A

Directions：Read the following four texts. Answer the questions after each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. (40 points)

 

Text 1

It’s true that high-school coding classes aren’t essential for learning computer science in college. Students without experience can catch up after a few introductory courses, said Tom Cortina, the assistant dean at Carnegie Mellon’s School of Computer Science.

 

However, Cortina said, early exposure is beneficial. When younger kids learn computer science, they learn that it’s not just a confusing, endless string of letters and numbers — but a tool to build apps, or create artwork, or test hypotheses. It’s not as hard for them to transform their thought processes as it is for older students. Breaking down problems into bite-sized chunks and using code to solve them becomes normal. Giving more children this training could increase the number of people interested in the field and help fill the jobs gap, Cortina said.

Students also benefit from learning something about coding before they get to college, where introductory computer-science classes are packed to the brim, which can drive the less-experienced or-determined students away.

 

The Flatiron School, where people pay to learn programming, started as one of the many coding bootcamps that’s become popular for adults looking for a career change. The high-schoolers get the same curriculum, but “we try to gear lessons toward things they’re interested in,” said Victoria Friedman, an instructor. For instance, one of the apps the students are developing suggests movies based on your mood.

 

The students in the Flatiron class probably won’t drop out of high school and build the next Facebook. 

 

Programming languages have a quick turnover, so the “Ruby on Rails” language they learned may not even be relevant by the time they enter the job market. But the skills they learn — how to think logically through a problem and organize the results — apply to any coding language, said Deborah Seehorn, an education consultant for the state of North Carolina.

 

Indeed, the Flatiron students might not go into IT at all. But creating a future army of coders is not the sole purpose of the classes. These kids are going to be surrounded by computers — in their pockets, in their offices, in their homes — for the rest of their lives. The younger they learn how computers think, how to coax the machine into producing what they want — the earlier they learn that they have the power to do that — the better.

 

21. Cortina holds that early exposure to computer science makes it easier to____.

A. complete future job training

B. remodel the way of thinking

C. formulate logical hypotheses

D. perfect artwork production

22. In delivering lessons for high-schoolers, Flatiron has considered their____.

A. experience

B. academic backgrounds

C. career prospects

D. interest

23. Deborah Seehorn believes that the skills learned at Flatiron will____.

A. help students learn other computer languages

B. have to be upgraded when new technologies come

C. need improving when students look for jobs

D. enable students to make big quick money

24. According to the last paragraph, Flatiron students are expected to____.

A. compete with a future army of programmers

B. stay longer in the information technology industry

C. become better prepared for the digitalized world

D. bring forth innovative computer technologies

25. The word “coax” (Line4, Para.6) is closest in meaning to____.

A. challenge

B. persuade

C. frighten

D. misguide

 

Text 2

Biologists estimate that as many as 2 million lesser prairie chickens---a kind of bird living on stretching grasslands—once lent red to the often gray landscape of the midwestern and southwestern United States. But just some 22,000 birds remain today, occupying about 16% of the species’ historic range.

 

The crash was a major reason the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)decided to formally list the bird as threatened. “The lesser prairie chicken is in a desperate situation,” said USFWS Director Daniel Ashe. Some environmentalists, however, were disappointed. They had pushed the agency to designate the bird as “endangered,” a status that gives federal officials greater regulatory power to crack down on threats. But Ashe and others argued that the“threatened” tag gave the federal government flexibility to try out new, potentially less confrontational conservations approaches. In particular, they called for forging closer collaborations with western state governments, which are often uneasy with federal action and with the private landowners who control an estimated 95% of the prairie chicken’s habitat.

 

Under the plan, for example, the agency said it would not prosecute landowner or businesses that unintentionally kill, harm, or disturb the bird, as long as they had signed a range—wide management plan to restore prairie chicken habitat. Negotiated by USFWS and the states, the plan requires individuals and businesses that damage habitat as part of their operations to pay into a fund to replace every acre destroyed with 2 new acres of suitable habitat. The fund will also be used to compensate landowners who set aside habitat, USFWS also set an interim goal of restoring prairie chicken populations to an annual average of 67,000 birds over the next 10 years. And it gives the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA), a coalition of state agencies, the job of monitoring progress. Overall, the idea is to let “states” remain in the driver’s seat for managing the species，” Ashe said.

 

Not everyone buys the win-win rhetoric Some Congress members are trying to block the plan, and at least a dozen industry groups, four states, and three environmental groups are challenging it in federal court Not surprisingly, doesn’t go far enough “The federal government is giving responsibility for managing the bird to the same industries that are pushing it to extinction,” says biologist Jay Lininger.

 

26. The major reason for listing the lesser prairie as threatened is____

[A]its drastically decreased population

[B]the underestimate of the grassland acreage

[C]a desperate appeal from some biologists

[D]the insistence of private landowners

27.The “threatened” tag disappointed some environmentalists in that it_____

[A]was a give-in to governmental pressure

[B]would involve fewer agencies in action

[C]granted less federal regulatory power

[D]went against conservation policies

28.It can be learned from Paragraph3 that unintentional harm-doers will not be prosecuted if they_____

[A]agree to pay a sum for compensation

[B]volunteer to set up an equally big habitat

[C]offer to support the WAFWA monitoring job

[D]promise to raise funds for USFWS operations

29.According to Ashe， the leading role in managing the species in______

[A]the federal government

[B]the wildlife agencies

[C]the landowners

[D]the states

30.Jay Lininger would most likely support_______

[A]industry groups

[B]the win-win rhetoric

[C]environmental groups

[D]the plan under challenge

 

Text 3

That everyone’s too busy these days is a cliché. But one specific complaint is made especially mournfully： There’s never any time to read.

 

What makes the problem thornier is that the usual time-management techniques don’t seem sufficient. The web’s full of articles offering tips on making time to read: “Give up TV” or “Carry a book with you at all times” But in my experience, using such methods to free up the odd 30 minutes doesn’t work. Sit down to read and the flywheel of work-related thoughts keeps spinning-or else you’re so exhausted that a challenging book’s the last thing you need. The modern mind, Tim Parks, a novelist and critic, writes, “is overwhelmingly inclined toward communication…It is not simply that one is interrupted; it is that one is actually inclined to interruption”. Deep reading requires not just time, but a special kind of time which can’t be obtained merely by becoming more efficient.

 

In fact, “becoming more efficient” is part of the problem. Thinking of time as a resource to be maximised means you approach it instrumentally, judging any given moment as well spent only in so far as it advances progress toward some goal immersive reading, by contrast, depends on being willing to risk inefficiency, goallessness, even time-wasting. Try to slot it as a to-do list item and you’ll manage only goal-focused reading-useful, sometimes, but not the most fulfilling kind. “The future comes at us like empty bottles along an unstoppable and nearly infinite conveyor belt,” writes Gary Eberle in his book Sacred Time, and “we feel a pressure to fill these different-sized bottles (days, hours, minutes)as they pass, for if they get by without being filled, we will have wasted them”. No mind-set could be worse for losing yourself in a book.

 

So what does work? Perhaps surprisingly, scheduling regular times for reading. You’d think this might fuel the efficiency mind-set, but in fact, Eberle notes, such ritualistic behaviour helps us “step outside time’s flow” into “soul time”. You could limit distractions by reading only physical books, or on single-purpose e-readers. “Carry a book with you at all times” can actually work, too-providing you dip in often enough, so that reading becomes the default state from which you temporarily surface to take care of business, before dropping back down. On a really good day, it no longer feels as if you’re “making time to read,” but just reading, and making time for everything else.

 

31. The usual time-management techniques don’t work because

[A] what they can offer does not ease the modern mind

[B] what challenging books demand is repetitive reading

[C] what people often forget is carrying a book with them

[D] what deep reading requires cannot be guaranteed

32. The “empty bottles” metaphor illustrates that people feel a pressure to

[A] update their to-do lists

[B] make passing time fulfilling

[C] carry their plans through

[D] pursue carefree reading

33. Eberle would agree that scheduling regular times for reading helps

[A] encourage the efficiency mind-set

[B] develop online reading habits

[C] promote ritualistic reading

[D] achieve immersive reading

34. “Carry a book with you at all times” can work if

[A] reading becomes your primary business of the day

[B] all the daily business has been promptly dealt with

[C] you are able to drop back to business after reading

[D] time can be evenly split for reading and business

35. The best title for this text could be

[A] How to Enjoy Easy Reading

[B] How to Find Time to Read

[C] How to Set Reading Goals

[D] How to Read Extensively

 

Text 4

Against a backdrop of drastic changes in economy and population structure, younger Americans are drawing a new 21st-century road map to success, a latest poll has found.

 

Across generational lines, Americans continue to prize many of the same traditional milestones of a successful life, including getting married, having children, owning a home, and retiring in their sixties. But while young and old mostly agree on what constitutes the finish line of a fulfilling life, they offer strikingly different paths for reaching it.

 

Young people who are still getting started in life were more likely than older adults to prioritize personal fulfillment in their work, to believe they will advance their careers most by regularly changing jobs, to favor communities with more public services and a faster pace of life, to agree that couples should be financially secure before getting married or having children, and to maintain that children are best served by two parents working outside the home, the survey found.

 

From career to community and family, these contrasts suggest that in the aftermath of the searing Great Recession, those just starting out in life are defining priorities and expectations that will increasingly spread through virtually all aspects of American life, from consumer preferences to housing patterns to politics.

 

Young and old converge on one key point: Overwhelming majorities of both groups said they believe it is harder for young people today to get started in life than it was for earlier generations. While younger people are somewhat more optimistic than their elders about the prospects for those starting out today, big majorities in both groups believe those “just getting started in life” face a tougher a good-paying job, starting a family, managing debt, and finding affordable housing.

 

Pete Schneider considers the climb tougher today. Schneider, a 27-yaear-old auto technician from the Chicago suburbs says he struggled to find a job after graduating from college. Even now that he is working steadily, he said.” I can’t afford to pay ma monthly mortgage payments on my own, so I have to rent rooms out to people to mark that happen.” Looking back, he is struck that his parents could provide a comfortable life for their children even though neither had completed college when he was young. “I still grew up in an upper middle-class home with parents who didn’t have college degrees,” Schneider said. “I don’t think people are capable of that anymore.”

 

36. One cross-generation mark of a successful life is_____.

[A] trying out different lifestyles

[B] having a family with children

[C] working beyond retirement age

[D] setting up a profitable business

37. It can be learned from Paragraph 3 that young people tend to ____.

[A] favor a slower life pace

[B] hold an occupation longer

[C] attach importance to pre-marital finance

[D] give priority to childcare outside the home

38. The priorities and expectations defined by the young will ____.

[A] become increasingly clear

[B] focus on materialistic issues

[C] depend largely on political preferences

[D] reach almost all aspects of American life

39. Both young and old agree that ____.

[A] good-paying jobs are less available

[B] the old made more life achievements

[C] housing loans today are easy to obtain

[D] getting established is harder for the young

40. Which of the following is true about Schneider?

[A] He found a dream job after graduating from college.

[B] His parents believe working steadily is a must for success.

[C] His parents’ good life has little to do with a college degree.

[D] He thinks his job as a technician quite challenging.

 

Part B

Directions:

Read the following text and answer the questions by choosing the most suitable subheading from the list A-G for each of the numbered paragraphs(41-45).There are two extra subheadings which you do not need to use.Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET.

 

[A]Be silly

[B]Have fun

[C]Express your emotions

[D]Don't overthink it

[E]Be easily pleased

[F]Notice things

[G]Ask for help

 

As adults,it seems that we are constantly pursuing happiness,often with mixed results.Yet children appear to have it down to an art-and for the most part they don't need self-help books or therapy.instead,they look after their wellbeing instinctively,and usually more effectively than we do as grownups.Perhaps it's time to learn a few lessons from them.

41.______________

What does a child do when he's sad? He cries.When he's angry?He shouts.Scared?Probably a bit of both.As we grow up,we learn to control our emotions so they are manageable and don't dictate our behaviours,which is in many ways a good thing.But too often we take this process too far and end up suppressing emotions,especially negative ones.that's about as effective as brushing dirt under a carpet and can even make us ill.What we need to do is find a way to acknowledge and express what we feel appropriately, and then-again like children-move.

42.____________

A couple of Christmases ago, my youngest stepdaughter, who was nine years old at the time, got a Superman T-shirt for Christmas. It cost less than a fiver but she was overjoyed, and couldn't stop talking about it.Too often we believe that a new job,bigger house or better car will be the magic silver bullet that will allow us to finally be content,but the reality is these things have very little lasting impact on our happiness levels. Instead, being grateful for small things every day is a much better way to improve wellbeing.

43.______________________

Have you ever noticed how much children laugh? If we adults could indulge in a bit of silliness and giggling, we would reduce the stress hormones in our bodies , increase good hormones like endorphins, improve blood flow to our hearts and even have a greater chance of fighting off enfection. All of which, of course, have a positive effect on happiness levels.

44.__________________

The problem with being a grown up is that there's an awful lot of serious stuff to deal with---work,mortgage payments,figuring out what to cook for dinner. But as adults we also have the luxury of being able to control our own diaries and it's important that we schedule in time to enjoy the things we love.Those things might be social,sporting,creative or completely random(dancing aroud the living room,anyone?)--it doesn't matter,so long as they're enjoyable, and not likely to have negative side effects,such as drinking too much alcohol or going on a wild spending spree if you're on a tight budget.

45.___________________

Having said all of the above, it's important to add that we shouldn't try too hard to be happy.Scientists tell us this can backfire and actually have a negative impact on our wellbeing. As the Chinese philosopher Chuang Tzu is reported to have said:"Happiness is the absence of striving for happiness."And in that,once more,we need to look to the example of our children,to whom happiness is not a goal but a natural by product of the way they live.

参考答案

Text 1

21 答案 B remodel the way of thinking.

解析：此题是文中人物观点题。根据Cortina定位到第二段前三句。Cortina认为尽早接触计算机科学是有益的。第三句It’s not as hard for them to transform their thought processes as it is for older students. 译为在转变思维程序方面小孩不像年龄较大的学生一样困难，即B remodel the way of thinking 转变思维方式即为同义替换。

22 答案 D interest

解析：此题是细节题。根据关键词Friedman定位到第四段第二句but之后引号里面内容“我们试图让课程符合学生兴趣”，故而D interest为正确答案。

23 答案 A help students learn other computer languages

解析：文中人物观点题。题干问的是Deborah Seehorn认为在Flatiron这里所学到的技能将能怎么样，据此定位到第五段But处，和题干基本一致，该句指出“But the skills they learn…appl to any coding language”，意思是他们学到的技能可以应用于任何编码语言。对比答案选项，A选项的意思是“帮助学生学习其他的计算机语言”属于原文定位处的同义替换。

24 答案 C become better prepared for the digitalized world

解析：细节题。题干指出：根据最后一段，Flatiron的学生被期望去干什么。据此定位到最后一段的These kids are going to be处，是题干的同义复现。定位句“These kids are…be surrounded by computers for the rest of their lives. The younger they learn how computers think…….the better.”，意思是学生们越早学越好。C选项“为数字化的未来做更好的准备”是同义概述。

25 答案 B persuade

解析：词义句意题，结合上下文来解题。根据coax此单词，定位到最后一段最后一句“how to coax the machine into producing what they want”，考察固定搭配“persuade…into…”。A选项挑战，B选项劝服，C选项使恐慌，D选项误导。考生做题时一定要注意结合上下文来推测生词的词义，这是命题人的出题 规律。

 

Text 2

26 答案 A its drastically decreased population

解析：此题是原因细节题。根据关键词定位到第一段But前后关于lesser prairie chickens 数量2million和22,000的强烈对比。此外第二段第二句“the lesser prairie chicken is in a desperate situation”都可以得知A its drastically decreased population 数量的急剧下降为正确答案。

27 答案 C granted less federal regulatory powers

解析：此题是原因细节题。根据关键词定位到第二段第四句，They had …, a state that gives federal officials greater regulatory power. 而But 之后是截然相反的事实，即政府授予了更少的管理权。故而C granted less federal regulatory powers为正确答案。

28 答案 A agree to pay a sum for compensation

解析：推断题。题干问的是从第三段推出来：无意伤害的那些人是不会被检举的如果怎么样。根据题干定位到第三段首句“it would not prosecute….as long as ….”，题干中问的if即原文的as long as的同意替换，原文as long as的意思是：只要他们签署了计划。下一句说道，该计划要求个体和企业去支付基金。对应选项A选项“赞同支付赔偿”属于同义替换。

29 答案 D the states

解析：此题是细节题。根据关键词定位到第三段最后一句the idea is to let the“states”remain in the driver’s seat for managing the species, Ashe said. 其中in the driver’s seat对应题干中的the leading role, 故而D states为正确答案。

30 答案 C environmental groups

解析：文中人物观点题。题干问的是Jay Lininger最可能支持谁，大写人名定位到末段最后一句。最后一句提到：生物学家Jay Lininger说道联邦政府要把责任推给导致鸟类灭绝的企业，显然是对政府和企业的反对。再往前看一句，指出：企业团体和政府部门观点一致，环境学家与其观点恰巧一致。因此，Jay Lininger最支持环境团体的观点了。

 

Text 3

31 答案 D what deep reading requires cannot be guaranteed.

解析：因果细节题。题干指出：传统的时间管理方法不起作用的原因是什么。根据题干定位到第二段首句指出the usual time-management techniques don’t seem sufficient，是题干的同义替换，但要找原因。整段都在分析过程环节，最终原因必然在该段末句提到。直接定位到该段末句，指出深入阅读不仅需要时间，而且是一种仅仅通过有效无法获得的一种时间。结合选项D，深入阅读所需的无法得到确保，是原文末句的同义替换。

32 答案 B make passing time fulfilling

解析：题干问的是“empty bottles”暗喻证明了人们在做什么方面有压力，empty bottles直接可以在文中Gary Eberle所说的话中找到：“The future comes at us like empty bottles…”。其所说的话证明的目的必然是为了说明前一句的观点。因此，该题定位到三段“try to slot…but not the most fulfilling kind”，该句就指出：只会处理目标集中的阅读，这是有用的，但不是最有满足感的。结合选项B使流逝的时间更有满足感，是原文的同义替换。

33 答案 D achieve immersive reading

解析：文中人物观点题，注意区分文中人物观点和作者观点。题干问的是Eberle赞同为阅读设定规定性时间帮助什么。根据题干精确定位到第四段第二句：“You’d think this might fuel the efficiency mind-set, but in fact, E…..into soul time”，意思是你会认为这可以提升效率性思维设定，但实际上这些行为帮助我们跨入到灵魂阅读时间。对应选项D，获得深入阅读，属于同义替换。

34 答案 A reading becomes your primary business of the day

解析：细节题。题干指出：总是带一本书会起作用如果怎么样。根据题干定位到末段中间部分“carry a book with you at all times can actually work, too … so that reading becomes the default state from which you temporarily surface to take care of business.”，意思是这样的话阅读就成为默认状态，偶尔会出来管理工作(注意business并非默认状态，非主要事情)。对应选项A 阅读成为每天的主要任务，是该句的同义替换。

35 答案 B How to Find Time to Read

解析：标题题，即全文中心主旨。通过题干，可发现题干关键词中time复现多次，因此可确定time为全文的主题词。整篇文章都围绕阅读时间来展开，因此正确答案为A如何寻找阅读时间。

 

Text 4

36 答案 B having a family with children

解析：此题是细节题。根据关键词定位到第二段第一句Across generational lines,…including getting married, having children…即成功的标志包括结婚生子，故而正确选项是B having a family with children.

37 答案 C attach importance to pre-marital finance

解析：此题是细节题。根据关键词定位到第三段第一句Young people…to agree that couples should be financially secure before getting married or having children…即年轻人认为夫妻在结婚前或者生小孩前应该在经济上是稳定的，故而C attach importance to pre-marital finance为正确答案。

38 答案 D reach almost all aspects of American life

解析：此题是细节题。根据关键词定位到第四段第一句…those just starting…will increasingly spread through virtually all aspects …即这些期待即将渗透到美国生活的各个方面，故而D reach almost all aspects of American life为正确答案。

39 答案 D getting established is harder for the young

解析：此题是文中人物观点题。根据关键词定位到第五段第一句…it is harder for young people today to get started in life than it was for earlier generations. 即与年长者相比，现如今的年轻人维持生计更加困难，故而D getting established is harder for the young为正确答案。

40 答案 C His parents’ good life has little to do with a college degree.

解析：此题是正误判断题。根据关键词定位到第六段第五句Looking back…his parents could provide a comfortable life for the children even though neither had completed college when he was young.即父母即便没有上过大学但仍旧可以为孩子提供舒适的生活，故而His parents’ good life has little to do with a college degree.为正确答案。

 

Part B

意料之中的小标题。首先明确7个选项的意思。

首先应当把握本文的出发点，也就是41题目之前的关键句：我们应该从孩子身上学习一些东西。“捉住本中心，每个标题都是提醒成人可以从孩子身上得到一些启示。

41. C 表达情感。开头以问句的方式：“孩子悲伤时会怎样?孩子生气时会如何?他们的表达方式与大人不同，成人更多会选择压抑情感，并且会有不好的后果，比如致病。紧接着最后一句算是总结句：我们要找到一种合适的方式表达，像孩子那样。重点在哪里?整段不离的中心意思，重复的出现那就是情感的表达喽。选项为 C

42.E举例子的目的无非是为了证明观点。但是从例子也是可以总结出想要表达的意思的。讲到一个小女孩因为一个廉价的圣诞礼物就可以高兴，并且很快乐，就旨在讲小小的幸福。再来看看例子后面的观点。提到成人的世界里所谓的车啊，房啊之类的貌似会让我们 幸福的东西其实不然。所以一个instead 直接把本段的中心意思表达了出来，那就是幸福来自于小小的事情。对应选项E

43. A 一句话出现在第二句。问句之后，如果我们能够“愚蠢“那么一点点，我们将会有各种好处，对不对。那么这一段几乎大段的篇幅都花在这一句上了，主旨更加明显那就是：去这样做吧。Be silly.

44.B 这一段讲到成人的世界里的确有太多让人烦恼的东西，But as adults we also have the luxury of being able to control our own diaries and it's important that we schedule in time to enjoy the things we love 享受自己喜欢的东西也是很重要的。接下来举例子，各种具体事例说明那些我们可以做的可以享受的事情，并且最后说出了他们的好处。从前往后一直再说我们应该放松，享受。所以啊，在剩下的可选择的选项中只有have funs比较合适了。

45.D 不要可以去想怎样才幸福，应用了哲人的一句话来说明这个道理，旨在告诉大家当让是过程就是幸福的了。最后可以用排除法。G寻求帮助根本未提及。F 选项可以直接排除。那么对应关系，来看看D 不要想太多。“无欲无求，本就是幸福啦。“最终选定D