大学英语读写教程第1册unit8阅读理解三篇

unit 8

Part 1 Reading comprehension

Directions: Read the following passages carefully. Each

passage is followed by some questions or unfinished

sentences. For each of them there are four choices marked A,

B, C, and D. Choose the best answer to each question.

Questions 1 to 5 are based on the same passage or dialog.

Manners evolved differently in different cultures. In earlier

times there was a tendency for manners to become increasingly

formal, and this was often viewed as progress. In the 18th

and 19th centuries having good manners was seen as an

important part of one's education and social class, and it

was necessary to be taken as a lady or a gentleman to get ahead

in the world.

In the 20th and 21st centuries, manners have gradually become

more relaxed and informal. The hosting of dinners and other

social gatherings are no longer the exclusive privilege of

the wealthy elite (精英), and private clubs are being

gradually replaced by more open meeting places. So the manners

of the salon (沙龙) are gradually combining with the manners

of the pub. Clothing is a good indication of the changes in

manners, as can be seen in the following examples.

It is surprising that the wearing of hats indoors by males

is once again becoming acceptable. Students in North America

often wear baseball caps to class. In many countries the

wearing of hats indoors by males was once acceptable even in

very polite society, but over the years this became considered

as a lower-class behavior and was thus discouraged in both

the middle and upper classes. The young people who wear hats

indoors do not realize they are actually restarting a very

old cultural tradition.

A comparable development for females is the wearing of jeans.

Many females now wear jeans on a daily basis, either at home

or at work. Some see this as a symbolic declaration that they

are now modern women, not girls or ladies. Some girls, like

boys, wear baseball caps both indoors and outdoors.

Sneakers and shorts are now acceptable for either males or

females in a variety of non-athletic situations. Some

companies have rules requiring informal dress such as jeans

or sneakers on Fridays (called "dress-down Friday" or "casual

Friday"), and others permit it almost all the time. In these

companies, and many others, it is acceptable to call the

bosses by their first names.

1. What does the passage mainly talk about?

A. Changes of manners over time.

B. Formal manners in the earlier times.

C. Different manners in different cultures.

D. Development of manners in different classes.

2. In the 20th and 21st centuries, _________.

A. manners are not as formal as in the past

B. manners in a pub are getting more and more formal

C. proper clothing is a good indication of good manners

D. rich people no longer behave formally in social

gatherings

3. According to the passage, "the manners of the salon" in

paragraph 2 most likely refers to __________.

A. Formal manners of drinking.

B. Informal manners of drinking.

C. Formal manners at social gatherings.

D. Informal manners at social gatherings.

4. According to the passage, nowadays wearing a hat indoors

can actually be viewed as _________.

A. a revolution

B. social progress

C. a worsening situation

D. a return to the old tradition

5. According to the author, today wearing hats indoors, and

wearing jeans at work mainly indicate that _________.

A. women are no longer inferior to men

B. people no longer pay attention to dressing details

C. people are getting more relaxed in terms of manners

D. some companies have lower requirements for their

employees

Questions 6 to 10 are based on the same passage or dialog.

Between the 1950s and the early 1980s, the evolving role of

Japanese women had been most obvious in their attitudes toward

marriage and the family system. There had been a trend away

from arranged marriages. Many young women admitted that they

took paid employment mostly in order to find a husband on their

own. In spite of this and other influences a 1982 figure showed

that almost 40 percent of marriages were still arranged. This

figure was, however, half the size of a 1955 survey which

showed that almost 81 percent of marriages were arranged. Once

married, many women in the early 1980s continued to work, and

increasingly they returned to work after childbirth,

something which was hard to imagine a generation before. A

woman's role in the family was evolving as well, becoming more

and more dominant.

Women had sought more personal satisfaction from their lives

since 1950s. In the beginning of the1980s, during their lives

before marriage women made up an almost free-wheeling (随心所欲) part of Japanese society. A survey of new brides

reported that only 12 percent expected their marriage to be

happy. At that time, Japanese still regarded marriage not as

the peak of a romance but as a duty that was primarily social

and practical in significance. As a result, Japanese women

took full advantage of their years before marriage. Most women

remained at home while working, living with their family in

a sort of extended dependency. Japanese women, however, must

be careful to maintain themselves within acceptable social

standards, one woman being told, "If you act like that, you

will not be wanted as a bride."

Once married a Japanese women found herself in a role opposite

of the perceived sex roles in Japan – the female was dominant

in the house. The relationship between the partners of a

Japanese marriage clearly showed the evolving role of women.

It must be remembered that a short one hundred years ago the

attitude toward women was that "In everything she must obey

her husband". By the early 1980s the role of women had changed:

A Japanese woman had almost unquestioned power within the

family system of today's Japan.

6. What is the passage mainly about?

A. Changes in the role of Japanese women.

B. Changes in the styles of Japanese marriages.

C. Japanese women's struggle for independence.

D. Japanese women's increased power in their families.

7. What did the author say about Japanese women before the

1950s?

A. Many women continued to work after marriage.

B. A majority of women had their marriages arranged.

C. Only less than half of women had arranged marriages.

D. Many women went to work in order to find a husband.

8. What was marriage in many Japanese people's eyes in the

early 1980s?

A. It was the end of their romance.

B. It was the beginning of a happy life.

C. It was a social responsibility one has to fulfill.

D. It was the highest point of their romantic

relationship.

9. Which of the following was the main cause for most

Japanese women in the early 1980s to take full advantage

of their years before marriage?

A. They believed they would no longer have a happy life

after marriage.

B. They knew they could not be as dominant as before after

getting married.

C. They should not go beyond acceptable social standards

after marriage.

D. They would no longer have time to work after marriage.

10. "The perceived sex roles" in the last paragraph most

probably refers to the fact that the wife_________.

A. had to obey the husband in the family

B. had to support the husband and his family

C. could make decisions on everything in the family

D. could question some of the husbands' decisions

Questions 11 to 15 are based on the same passage or dialog.

Leadership is the ability of a person to guide people in a

group toward achieving a task at hand. I believe that leaders

are made; they are not born and a person can always be a good

leader if he makes full use of the following list of leadership

strengths.

Firstly, task execution (实施) is one of the most important

leadership strengths. Coming up with a brilliant idea and

executing that idea are two completely different things.

Bringing an idea to life is a lot easier said than done. An

idea really comes to life only when it is executed to

perfection. For this, you need to be a team player. There is

a fine line between having followers that follow you out of

respect and having followers that follow you because they have

no choice. Any kind of disagreement in the team will affect

the end result and the efficiency of performing the task.

Secondly, before you go on to put any kind of strategy into

place, you need to understand and

envision what you wish to

achieve. This is important because the expectations of the

entire group will ride on your shoulders. Thus, one of the

important leadership strengths is to have a very clear vision

about how to go about a task at hand, keeping the long-term

and short-term goals and consequences in mind. You need to

be practical yet optimistic about the possibilities involved

in any task and must take into consideration all the risks

involved.

Thirdly, being the leader does not mean that you own the people

you work with. Many people tend to get carried away and do

not listen to their team members. This can go against them

as the team members then tend to lose respect for their leader.

You need to genuinely listen to your team members because they

are the only ones that will tell you if you go wrong at any

point of time. Furthermore, listening will make sure that you

connect with your team members on a personal level, which will

improve the performance of your team greatly.

11. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage

as one of the leadership strengths?

A. Lending an ear to team members.

B. Performing a task in a perfect way.

C. Accepting mistakes with good grace.

D. Planning for the future with a clear goal.

12. According to Paragraph 2, a good leader should

___________.

A. lead his followers with absolute authority

B. make his followers follow him out of respect

C. be able to find out who is a true follower in the team

D. focus on creating new ideas instead of executing them

13. What does "envision" most probably mean in Paragraph 3?

A. To remain optimistic about future results.

B. To focus all his attention on long-term goals.

C. To meet the expectations of the entire team members.

D. To forecast the possible achievements and

consequences.

14. Which of the following should be avoided as a good leader?

A. Holding a realistic attitude.

B. Considering short-term goals.

C. Thinking about the bad results of a plan.

D. Ignoring disagreement from his team members.

15. What is the author's attitude about becoming a good

leader?

A. You can be a good leader if you have talents.

B. You can be a good leader if you have a good team.

C. You can be a good leader if you acquire the essential

skills.

D. You can be a good leader as long as you are determined

to be one.