广东省专插本考试《公共英语》考前冲刺四

Part I Vocabulary and Structure (30%)
Directions：There are 30 incomplete sentences in this part. For each sentence，there are four choices marked A,B,C and D. Choose the one that best completes the sentence and then mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet.

Part II Reading Comprehension (40%)
Directions ： In this section，there are four passages，each of which is followed by five questions or unfinished statements. Choose the best answer and mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet.

Passage 1
    In the eyes of many foreigners，the Chinese are the best hosts and the worst guests in the world. And Western hosts sometimes look rude in the eyes of Chinese guests. It is because the guest-host relationship in China is quite different from that in some Western countries.
    In China， guests are almost like gods. Whenever I enter a Chinese friend’s home， there is always fruit on the table for me， and someone is quick to bring me a cup of tea or water. In the West， generally the guest is not like a god. Acting according to the host’s way of doing things is usual behavior for a guest.
    My wife’s mother， a very kind Chinese lady， doesn’ t smoke. When I see some of her guests smoking in her house， as a non-smoker， I feel unhappy. Usually， I want to stop them directly， but I must realize that in China， to be a good host， she must not do that.
    In most North American homes， if you are a guest， and the hosts are not smokers， you should not smoke in their houses. At the very least， you should ask， “Is it OK if I smoke?” But don，t be surprised if they say， “No，you can’t smoke. ‘，In my culture， if you smoke in their houses， you are a bad guest， but if they don’t allow you to smoke in their houses， they are not rude hosts.
    In a word，no matter where you are，the best way to be a good guest is to adapt to the habits of your hosts.

Passage 2
    Can dogs and cats live in perfect harmony in the same home? People who are thinking about adopting a dog as a friend for their cats are worried that they will fight. Recent research has found a new recipe for success. According to the study， if the cat is adopted before the dog， and if they are introduced when still young (less than 6 months for cats，a year for dogs)，it is highly probable that the two pets will get along swimmingly. Two-thirds of the homes interviewed reported a positive relationship between their cat and dog.
    However， it wasn’t all sweetness and light. There was reported coldness between the cat and dog in 25% of the homes， while aggression and fighting were observed in 10% of the homes. One reason for this is probably that some of their body signals were just opposite. For example，when a cat turns its head away it signals aggression， while a dog doing the same signals submission.
    In homes with cats and dogs living peacefully，researchers observed a surprising behavior-they are learning how to speak each other’s language. It is a surprise that cats can learn how to talk “dog”，and dogs can learn how to talk “cat”.
    What’s interesting _ that both cats and dogs have appeared to develop their intelligence. They can learn how to read each other，s body signals， suggesting that the two may have more in common than we previously suspected. Once familiar with each other’s presence and body language， cats and dogs can play together， greet each other nose to nose， and enjoy sleeping together on the sofa. They can easily share the same water bowl and in some cases groom (梳毛）each other.
     The significance of this research on cats and dogs may go beyond pets—to people who don’t get along， including neighbors， colleagues at work， and even world superpowers. If cats and dogs can learn to get along， surely people have a good chance.

Passage 3
    Although being famous might sound as if a dream comes true，today’ s stars ， feeling like zoo animals，face pressure that few of us can imagine. They are at the center of much of the world ‘ s attention. The paparazzi (狗仔队)camp outside their homes， cameras ready. Tabloids (小报) publish thrilling stories about their personal lives. Just imagine not being able to do anything without being photographed or interrupted for a signature.
    According to psychologist Christina Villareal， celebrities一famous people—worry constantly about their public image. Eventually， they start to lose track of who they really are， seeing themselves the way their fans imagine them，not as the people they were before everyone knew their names. “Over time，”Villareal says， “they feel separated and alone.，’
    The phenomenon of tracking celebrities has been around for ages. In the 4th century B. C. ， painters followed Alexander the Great into battle， hoping to picture his victories for his admirers. When Charles Dickens visited America in the 19 th century， his sold-out reading attracted thousands of fans， leading him to complain about his lack of privacy. Tabloids of the 1920s and 1930s ran articles about film stars in much the same way that modem tabloids and websites do.
    Being a public figure today， however， is a lot more difficult than it used to be. Superstars cannot move about without worrying about photographers with modem cameras. When they say something silly or do something ridiculous，there is always the Internet to spread the news in minutes and keep their “story” alive forever.
    If fame is so troublesome，why aren' t all celebrities running away from it? The answer is there are still ways to deal with it. Some stars stay calm by surrounding themselves with trusted friends and family or by escaping to remote places away from big cities. They focus not on how famous they are but on what they love to do or whatever made them famous in the first place.
    Sometimes a few celebrities can get a little justice. Still，even stars who enjoy full justice often complain about how hard their lives are. They are tired of being famous already.

Passage 4
    Opportunities for rewarding work become fewer for both men and women as they grow older. After age 40，job hunting becomes even more difficult. Many workers would stay at jobs they are too old for rather than face possible rejection. Our youth-oriented，throwaway culture sees little value in older people. In writer Lilian Heilman’s words， they have “the wisdom that comes with age that we can，t make use of”.
    Unemployment and economic need for work are higher among older women， especially minorities， than among younger white women. A national council reports these findings ： though unemployed longer when seeking work， older women job-hunt harder， hold a job longer with less absenteeism (旷工），perform as well or better， are more reliable， and are more willing to learn than men or younger women. Yet many older women earn poor pay and face a future of poverty in their retirement years. “When sexism meets ageism， poverty is no longer on the doorstep—it moves in，” according to Tish Sommers，director of a special study on older women for the National Organization for Women.
    Yet a 1981 report at the White House Conference on Aging shows that as a group， older Americans are the “wealthiest， best fed， best housed， healthiest， most self-reliant older population in our history”. This statement is small comfort to those living below the poverty line， but it does explode some of the old traditional beliefs and fears. Opportunities for moving in and up in a large company may shrink but many older people begin successful small businesses，volunteer in satisfying activities， and stay active for many years. They have few role models because in previous generations the lifespan was much shorter and expectations of life were fewer. They are ploughing new ground.
    Employers are beginning to recognize that a mature person can bring a great deal of stability and responsibility to a position. One doesn’t lose ability and experience on the eve of one’s 65th or 70th birthday any more than one grows up instantly at age 21.

Part Ⅲ Cloze (15%)
Directions ： There are 15 blanks in the following passage. For each blank， there are four choices. Choose the best answer and mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet.

   As my train was delayed for two hours， I had plenty of time to spare. After 51 some newspapers to read on the journey， I made my way to the luggage office to collect my heavy suitcase I had left there three days before. There were only a few people 52 ， and I took out my wallet to find the receipt for my case. The receipt didn’t seem to be where I had left it. I 53 the contents， and railway tickets， money， scraps of paper and photos fell out of it， hut no matter how 54 I searched， the receipt was nowhere to be found.
    When my turn came，I explained the situation sorrowfully to the assistant. The man looked at me now and then as if saying that he had heard this kind of story many times and asked me to 55 the case. I told him that it was an old， brown looking object no different 56 the many cases I could see on the shelves. The assistant then gave me a form and told me to make a 57 of the chief contents of the case. If they were 58 ，he said， I could take the case away. I tried to 59 all the articles I had 60 packed into the case and wrote them down as they came to me.
    After I 61  this， I went to look among the shelves. There were hundreds of cases there. For one dreadful moment， it 62 to me that if someone had 63 the receipt up he could have easily claimed(认领）the case already. This hadn’t happened 64 ，for after a while I found the case lying in a corner. After examining the articles inside，the assistant was 65 and told me I could take the case away.

Part IV Writing (15%)
Directions ： Write a letter of suggestion in at least 100 words according to the following requirements.