快速导航
学历类
职业资格
公务员
医卫类
建筑工程
外语类
外贸类
计算机类
财会类
技能鉴定
Passage 4
Questions 16 to 20 are based on the following passage:
Culture shock is an occupational disease (职业病) for people who have been
suddenly transplanted abroad.
Culture shock is caused by the anxiety that results from losing all familiar
signs and symbols of social intercourse. Those signs are as following: when to
shake hands and what to say when meet people, when and how to give tips, how to
make purchases, when to accept and refuse invitations, when to take statements
seriously and when not. These signs, which may be words, gestures, facial
expressions, or customs, are acquired by all of us in the course of growing up
and as much a part of our culture as the language we speak or the beliefs we
accept. All of us depend on hundreds of these signs for our peace of mind and
day-to-day efficiency, but we do not carry most at the level of conscious
awareness.
Now when an individual enters a strange culture, all or most of these
familiar signs are removed. No matter how broadminded or full of good will you
may be a series of supports have been knocked from under you, followed by a
feeling of frustration. When suffering from culture shock people first reject
the environment which caused discomfort. The ways of the host country are bad
because they make us feel bad. When foreigners in a strange land get together in
complain about the host country its people, you can be sure that they are
suffering from culture shock.
16. According to the passage, culture shock is .
A. an occupational disease of foreign people B. may lead to very serious
symptoms
C. actually not a disease D. incurable
17. According to the passage, culture shock result from .
A. the sudden change of social atmosphere and customs
B. the sudden change of our daily habits
C. the sudden loss of our own signs and symbols
D. the discomfort that we feel when faced with a foreigner
18. Which one of the following may not be a symptom of culture shock?
A. You don’t know how to express your gratitude.
B. You don’t know how to greet other people.
C. You suddenly forget what a word means.
D. You don’t understand why a foreigner shrugs.
19. According to the passage, how would a person who stays abroad most
probably react when he is frustrated by the culture shock?
A. He is most likely to refuse to absorb the strange environment at
first.
B. He is really to accept the change and adapt himself to the new
environment.
C. Although he takes the culture difference for granted, he still doesn’t
know how to do with it.
D. He may begin to hate the people or things around him.
20. The main idea of this passage is that .
A. culture shock is an occupational disease
B. culture shock is caused by the anxiety of living in a strange culture
C. culture shock has peculiar symptoms
D. it is very hard to cope with life in a new setting
Recent research has claimed that an excess of positive ions in the air can have an ill effect on people’s physical or psychological health. What are positive ions? Well, the air is full of ions, electrically charged particles,
and generally there is a rough balance between the positive and the negative charged. But sometimes this balance becomes disturbed and a larger proportion of positive ions are found. This happens naturally before thunderstorm, earthquakes
when winds such as the Mistral, Hamsin or Sharav are blowing in certain countries. Or it can be caused by a build-up of static electricity indoors from carpets or clothing made of man-made fibres, or from TV sets, duplicators or
computer display screens.
When a large number of positive ions are present in the air many people experience unpleasant effects such as headaches, fatigue, irritability, and some sensitive people suffer nausea or even mental disturbance. Animals
are also affected, particularly before earthquakes, snakes have been observed to come out of hibernation, rats to flee from their burrows, dogs howl and cats jump about unaccountably. This has led the US Geographical Survey to fund a
network of volunteers to watch animals in an effort to foresee such disasters before they hit vulnerable areas such as California.
Conversely, when large numbers of negative ions are present, then people have a feeling of well-being. Natural conditions that produce these large amounts are near the sea, close to waterfalls or fountains, or in any place where water is sprayed, or forms a spray. This probably accounts for the beneficial effect of a holiday by the sea, or in the mountains with tumbling streams or waterfalls.
To increase the supply of negative ions indoors, some scientists recommend the use of ionisers: small portable machines, which generate negative ions. They claim that ionisers not only clean and refresh the air but also improve the health of people sensitive to excess positive ions. Of course, there are the detractors, other scientists, who dismiss such claims and are skeptical about negative/positive ion research. Therefore people can only make up their own minds by observing the effects on themselves, or on others, of a negative rich or poor environment. After all it is debatable whether depending on seismic readings to anticipate earthquakes is more effective than watching the cat.
1.What effect does exceeding positive ionization have on some people?
A.They think they are insane.
B.They feel rather bad-tempered and short-fussed.
C.They become violently sick.
D.They are too tired to do anything.
2.In accordance with the passage, static electricity can be caused by___.
A.using home-made electrical goods.
B.wearing clothes made of natural materials.
C.walking on artificial floor coverings.
D.copying TV programs on a computer.
3.A high negative ion count is likely to be found___.
A.near a pound with a water pump.
B.close to a slow-flowing river.
C.high in some barren mountains.
D.by a rotating water sprinkler.
4.What kind of machine can generate negative ions indoors?
A.Ionisers.
B.Air-conditioners.
C.Exhaust-fans
D.Vacuum pumps.
5.Some scientists believe that___.
A.watching animals to anticipate earthquakes is more effective than depending
on seismography.
B.the unusual behavior of animals cannot be trusted.
C.neither watching nor using seismographs is reliable.
D.earthquake
Asian economies will continue to expand rapidly in the next two years on the
back of foreign investments, exports and domestic demand, but will not be free
of worries, according to a recent securities company economic report. Massive
infrastructure spending, the benefits of past investments and deregulation and
growing regional trade will push along regional growth.
The report tipped China’s gross domestic product to grow by 9.5 per cent in
1996 and 10.5 per cent in 1997, and Hong Kong’s to grow by 4.3 and 5.0 per cent.
Singapore’s real GDP was forecast to grow by 7.6 and 7.4 per cent, Malaysia’s by
8.6 and 8.1 per cent, Thailand’s by 8.8 and 8.4 per cent, Indonesia’s by 7.3 and
7.1 per cent and Philippines’ by 5.6 and 5.8 per cent.
“However, all is not rosy,” cautioned the report, which listed overheating as
the region’s biggest challenge in the short term and skilled-labor shortages in
the long run.
It cited strains from rapid growth that had begun to stretch current account
deficits and spur inflation in some regional economies, which could prevent
their central banks from lowering interest rates.
“This implies that economic vulnerability to unexpected shocks will remain
high,” the report said, forecasting a further tightening of monetary policy in
countries such as the Philippines and Malaysia, and no significant easing in
Thailand, Indonesia and China.
Crosby Securities also cited massive new investment programs generated by
demands on infrastructure such as power, telecommunications and transport which
had fuelled over-heating.
It said Asia would also face a bigger challenge from newly deregulating
economies in Eastern Europe which offered lower costs and better-educated
workers to foreign investors.
Asia’s main foreign investors should, however, continue to expand their
presence in the region, the securities house said, noting new trends of
intra-Asian investment.
Singapore is shifting its lower value-added disc drive and electronics
industry to Malaysia, which in turn is moving some of its garment-making and
consumer electronics manufacturing to Indonesia and Thailand. Thailand, Malaysia
and Singapore are increasingly investing in Viet Nam, Myanmar and Laos.
“Asia will benefit from this trend in several ways,” the report said.
( )1Asia economy will continue to grow because of _____________.
A. foreign investment B. demands in Asian countries.
C. export D. all of the above
( )2 In the next 2 years, the highest economic growth will appear in
____________.
A. Singapore B. Thailand
C. Hong Kong D. China
( )3 Years later, the problem in Asian economy may be _________________.
A. too little investment B. too much investment
C. not enough qualified labors D. monetary instability
( )4 According to this report, economic changes in East Europe are
___________.
A. harmful B. challenging
C. helpful D. useless
( )5 The report is about the prospect of Asian economy.
A. optimistic B. pessimistic
C. more optimistic than pessimistic D. more pessimistic than optimistic
The discovery of the Antarctic not only proved one of the most interesting of all geographical adventures, but created what might be called “the heroic age of Antarctic exploration”. By their tremendous heroism, men such as Shakleton, Scott, and Amundsen caused a new continent to emerge from the shadows, and yet that heroic age, little more than a century old, is already passing. Modern science and inventions are revolutionizing the endurance, future journeys into these icy wastes will probably depend on motor vehicles equipped with caterpillar traction rather than on the dogsthat earlier discoverers found so invaluable and hardly comparable.
Few realize that this Antarctic continent is almost equal in size to South America, and enormous field of work awaits geographers and prospectors. The coasts of this continent remain to be accurately charted, and the maping of the
whole of the interior presents a formidable task to the cartographers who undertake the work. Once their labors are completed, it will be possible to prospect the vast natural resources which scientists believe will furnish one of the largest treasure hoards of metals and minerals the world has yet known, and almost inexhaustible sources of copper,coal, uranium, and many other ores will become available to man. Such discoveries will usher in an era of practical exploitation of the Antarctic wastes.
The polar darkness which hides this continent for the six winter months will be defeated by huge batteries of light, and make possible the establishing of air-fields for the future inter-continental air services by making these areas as light as day. Present flying routes will be completely changed, for the Antarctic refueling bases will make flights from Australia to South America comparatively easy over the 5,000 miles journey.
The climate is not likely to offer an insuperable problem, for the explorer
Admiral Byrd has shown that the climate is possible even for men completely
untrained for expeditions into those frozen wastes. Some of his parties were men
who had never seen snow before, and yet he records that they survived the rigors
of the Antarctic climate comfortably, so that, provided that the appropriate
installations are made, we may assume that human beings from all countries could
live there safely. Byrd even affirms that it is probably the most healthy
climate in the world, for the intense cold of thousands of years has sterilize
this continent, and rendered it absolutely germfree, with the consequences that
ordinary and extraordinary sickness and diseases from which man suffers in other
zones with different climates are here utterly unknown. There exist no problems
of conservation and preservation of food supplies, for the latter keep
indefinitely without any signs of deterioration; it may even be that later
generations will come to regard the Antarctic as the natural storehouse for the
whole world.
Plans are already on foot to set up permanent bases on the shores of this
continent, and what so few years ago was regarded as a “dead continent” now
promises to be a most active center of human life and endeavor.
1.When did man begin to explore the Antarctic?
A.About 100years ago.
B.In this century.
C.At the beginning of the 19th century.
D.In 1798.
2.What must the explorers be, even though they have modern equipment and
techniques?
A.Brave and tough
B.Stubborn and arrogant.
C.Well-liked and humorous.
D.Stout and smart.
3.The most healthy climate in the world is___.
A.in South America.
B.in the Arctic Region.
C.in the Antarctic Continent.
D.in the Atlantic Ocean.
4.What kind of metals and minerals can we find in the Antarctic?
A.Magnetite, coal and ores.
B.Copper, coal and uranium.
C.Silver, natural gas and uranium.
D.Aluminum, copper and natural gas.
5.What is planned for the continent?
A.Building dams along the coasts.
B.Setting up several summer resorts along the coasts.
C.Mapping the coast and whole territory.
D.Setting up permanent bases on the coasts.
