2011年英語四級(jí)考試閱讀練習(xí)題六

Part II Reading Comprehension
(35 minutes)

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 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.

I’ve been writing for most of my life. The book Writing Without Teachers introduced me to one distinction and one practice that has helped my writing processes tremendously. The distinction is between the creative mind and the critical mind. While you need to employ both to get to a finished result, they cannot work in parallel no matter how much we might like to think so.

Trying to criticize writing on the fly is possibly the single greatest barrier to writing that most of us encounter. If you are listening to that 5th grade English teacher correct your grammar while you are trying to capture a fleeting (稍縱即逝的) thought, the thought will die. If you capture the fleeting thought and simply share it with the world in raw form, no one is likely to understand. You must learn to create first and then criticize if you want to make writing the tool for thinking that it is.

The practice that can help you past your learned bad habits of trying to edit as you write is what Elbow calls “free writing.” In free writing, the objective is to get words down on paper non-stop, usually for 15-20 minutes. No stopping, no going back, no criticizing. The goal is to get the words flowing. As the words begin to flow, the ideas will come from the shadows and let themselves be captured on your notepad or your screen.

Now you have raw materials that you can begin to work with using the critical mind that you’ve persuaded to sit on the side and watch quietly. Most likely, you will believe that this will take more time than you actually have and you will end up staring blankly at the pages as the deadline draws near.

Instead of staring at a blank start filling it with words no matter how bad. Halfway through you available time, stop and rework your raw writing into something closer to finished product. Move back and forth until you run out of time and the final result will most likely be far better than your current practices.

57. When the author says the creative mind and the critical mind “cannot work in parallel” (Line 4, Para. 1) in the writing process, he means ________.
A) no one can be both creative and critical
B) they cannot be regarded as equally important
C) they are in constant conflict with each other
D) one cannot use them at the same time

58. What prevents people from writing on is ________.
A) putting their ideas in raw form
B) attempting to edit as they write
C) ignoring grammatical soundness
D) trying to capture fleeting thoughts

59. What is the chief objective of the first stage of writing?
A) To organize one’s thoughts logically.
B) To choose an appropriate topic.
C) To get one’s ideas down.
D) To collect raw materials.

60. One common concern of writers about “free writing” is that ________.
A) it overstresses the role of the creative mind
B) it takes too much time to edit afterwards
C) it may bring about too much criticism
D) it does not help them to think clearly

61. In what way does the critical mind help the writer in the writing process?
A) It refines his writing into better shape.
B) It helps him to come up with new ideas.
C) It saves the writing time available to him.
D) It allows him to sit on the side and observe.

Passage Two
Questions 62 to 66 are based on the following passage.

I don’t ever want to talk about being a woman scientist again. There was a time in my life when people asked constantly for stories about what it’s like to work in a field dominated by men. I was never very good at telling those stories because truthfully I never found them interesting. What I do find interesting is the origin of the universe, the shape of space-time and the nature of black holes.

At 19, when I began studying astrophysics, it did not bother me in the least to be the only woman in the classroom. But while earning my Ph.D. at MIT and then as a post-doctor doing space research, the issue started to bother me. My every achievement—jobs, research papers, awards—was viewed through the lens of gender (性別) politics. So were my failures. Sometimes, when I was pushed into an argument on left brain versus (相對(duì)于) right brain, or nature versus nurture (培育), I would instantly fight fiercely on my behalf and all womankind.

Then one day a few years ago, out of my mouth came a sentence that would eventually become my reply to any and all provocations: I don’t talk about that anymore. It took me 10 years to get back the confidence I had at 19 and to realize that I didn’t want to deal with gender issues. Why should curing sexism be yet another terrible burden on every female scientist? After all, I don’t study sociology or political theory.

Today I research and teach at Barnard, a women’s college in New York City. Recently, someone asked me how may of the 45 students in my class were women. You cannot imagine my satisfaction at being able to answer, 45. I know some of my students worry how they will manage their scientific research and a desire for children. And I don’t dismiss those concerns. Still, I don’t tell them “war” stories. Instead, I have given them this: the visual of their physics professor heavily pregnant doing physics experiments. And in turn they have given me the image of 45 women driven by a love of science. And that’s a sight worth talking about.

62. Why doesn’t the author want to talk about being a woman scientist again?
A) She feels unhappy working in male-dominated fields.
B) She is fed up with the issue of gender discrimination.
C) She is not good at telling stories of the kind.
D) She finds space research more important.

63. From Paragraph 2, we can infer that people would attribute the author’s failures to ________.
A) the very fact that she is a woman
B) her involvement in gender politics
C) her over-confidence as a female astrophysicist
D) the burden she bears in a male-dominated society

64. What did the author constantly fight against while doing her Ph.D. and post-doctoral research?
A) Lack of confidence in succeeding in space science.
B) Unfair accusations from both inside and outside her circle.
C) People’s stereotyped attitude toward female scientists.
D) Widespread misconceptions about nature and nurtured.

65. Why does the author feel great satisfaction when talking about her class?
A) Female students no longer have to bother about gender issues.
B) Her students’ performance has brought back her confidence.
C) Her female students can do just as well as male students.
D) More female students are pursuing science than before.

66. What does the image the author presents to her students suggest?
A) Women students needn’t have the concerns of her generation.
B) Women have more barriers on their way to academic success.
C) Women can balance a career in science and having a family.
D) Women now have fewer problems pursuing a science career.