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1、生命中，不断地有人离开或进入。于是，看见的，看不见的；记住的，遗忘了。生命中，不断地有得到和失落。于是，看不见的，看见了；遗忘的，记住了。然而，看不见的，是不是就等于不存在？记住的，是不是永远不会消失？ 英语六级阅读理解练习题(四)温馨提示：帮考网外语免费练习题，如需完整题库请登录 It is fashionable nowadays to talk about “Englishes”surely one of the least attractive of recent coinages. But it is an indication that the great community of
2、 users of English are now conscious of the fact that they do not all have exactly the same accent， or habit of grammar and idiom， or vocabulary. They have a choice， and they intend to use it. How does Britain stand in this comparison？ What is the role of the British Council， and other British educat
3、ional interests？ How does a major initiative like the Cobuild project further the image of Britain abroad？ Born with EnglishIn Britain on the whole we do not have much of a choice. We can take steps to modify our language a little， and there are some famous recent examples of the perils attending th
4、at policy. But by and large we just use the language that somehow emerges in early development and usually seems adequate for our daily communication needs.We should never forget what an asset it is to us all that this language is English. Everyone who has English as a birthright has an inbuilt （固有的
5、） advantage in international communication. Not only are we spared the trouble and expense of mastering the language later on， we also have access to a mastery of it which is of such high quality that few foreigners ever reach the same level.Such an asset beats North Sea Oil hands down. It must be w
6、orth billions of pounds a year and it is renewed solely by the operation of normal social processes. Only EnglishThere are some disadvantages which must at least be mentioned. We in Britain are in danger of turning this asset into arrogance， insularity and complacency. Since there is no commercial p
7、ressure on us to learn any particular foreign language， we tend as a nation to be very bad learners of other languages.。 This cuts us off from the ability to appreciate fully the culture of others， and denies us the ability to make the wonderful outward gesture of using someone elses own language. B
8、oth personally and commercially， most British people do not know what they are missing， and our competitors are well able to take advantage of this weakness.Busy and important people nowadays travel a lot and find themselves frequently attending meetings and giving talks， which have to be in English
9、 although everyone else shares a common language. It would improve the situation if on each occasion the unfortunate monolingual were to give a simple and sincere apology. The old adage （格言） that if you just speak English loudly enough everyone will understand， is truer than ever before， but is gett
10、ing less and less effective.In practical terms， of course， the person restricted to English could not be expected to speak all sorts of other languages， and this is an inhibiting factor anyone else knows exactly which language is best worth investing in. But we native speakers of English should alwa
11、ys be kept conscious of the fact that we frequently force our friends， customers and colleagues into a disadvantageous position. Which English？The English language has been so successfully exported round the world that the native speakers no longer have control over it. They are now in a snow minori
12、ty， for a start， and todays learners of English are not learning it particularly to talk to Englishmen， but also to talk to each other. The very features that distinguish native speakers disqualify them from key discussions like “Which is the best English？”There are a lot of good models of English a
13、vailable. As well as British English there is American English， the other world-wide model，。 with Canadian， Australian， New Zealand and South African English also available as prominent models.And what about the English which is established as a second language in many Commonwealth countries？ Indian
14、 English， West African English， West Indian English， Singaporean English and others have adapted to local circumstances over many years and are in the process of being re-exported. Because they are used in the everyday lives of millions of non-native speakers， they have features which could make the
15、m very attractive as practical alternatives to a native speaker variety. When native speaking teachers are not welcome politically in a country， for example， there will be found plenty of well-qualified and experienced colleagues from such countries.Further， we are witness at the present time to the
16、 development of English as an additional language in a number of communities which have a common language already and which are under no political pressure to adopt English. People from Scandinavia， West Germany and Holland， for instance， have English available as a matter of course. Their way of te
17、aching it is moving from the concerns of access to a foreign culturethe great literature etc. to the priorities of a working language in a communityhow to get things done. Gradually， for international matters， it will be more sensible to use English rather than translate. English language films will
18、 not be dubbed （配音） or subtitled any more. English language journalism will be edited and read by foreign communities， and gradually written by them also.Very soon there will be powerful new models of English offered to the worldmodels which can claim to have arisen without the attentions of native
19、speakers， to have none of the mystique， and yet to be usable as the principal language of external and public affairs. These models will derive authority from an impressive group of scholars and administrators who must never be overlookedthe thousands of experts on English and the teaching of it who
20、 are not themselves native speakers. In PracticePracticality is a key feature of anyones choice of a language model. Quite apart from the various reasons advanced above， the learner may in an actual situation have a very restricted choice of language models， in the available teachers and in access t
21、o materials. Recorded material and radio and television transmissions offer alternatives， but they may confuse as much as extend the choice available to the learner.Teachers and learners just have to make the best of what is available to them at the time and in the place where they are working. The
22、sustained efforts of authors， scholars and publishers are key factors in the strong presence of British English abroad， and in the maintenance of that presence.Pronunciation is a good case with which to illustrate this point. Throughout the world， learners of British English are aiming at a pronunci
23、ation that few of their teachers usethe Received Pronunciation （RP） associated with the public schools. The reason is that RP is the variety of English which is best documented and most readily available in teaching materials. Because of its origins， it is unassailable as a model and contributes to
24、the elitist atmosphere of the British variety of English.But if we put these compelling arguments to one side， and view it dispassionately， RP is not a very useful model of pronunciation. It has some very complex sound combinations， particularly diphthongs， and it is not very closely related to the
25、spelling system. Unlike other varieties， RP speakers make much the same noise saying poor， paw， pour， and pore， and do not distinguish between ion and iron. So it is not the linguistic features of RP that give it such an appeal， but its social status and， above all， its availability in the classroom
26、.1. GA （general American pronunciation） is becoming more and more popular with British youth.2. British native speakers are ignorant of cultures in other countries.3. The English language is diverse in grammar， vocabulary， or pronunciation.4. English is learned to communicate with native speakers.5.
27、 RP is appealing in that its status is peculiar.6. It is not troublesome at all to substitute qualified English teachers for native speaking teachers.7. Choice of a language model is determined by its popularity.8. Native speakers of English have an innate advantage in_communication.9. Competitors o
28、f English speakers may well take advantage of the weaknessmost British people do not know_.10. New models of English are likely to emerge without the _.答案：1. NG 2. N 3. Y 4. N 5. Y 6. Y 7. N8. international 9. what they are missing 10. attentions of native speakersAre some people born clever， and ot
29、hers born stupid？ Or is intelligence developed by our environment and our experiences？ Strangely enough， the answer to both these questions is yes. To some extent our intelligence is given us at birth， and no amount of special education can make a genius out of a child born with low intelligence. On
30、 the other hand， a child who lives in a boring environment will develop his intelligence less than one who lives in rich and varied surroundings. Thus the limits of a persons intelligence are fixed at birth， but whether or not he reaches those limits will depend on his environment. This view， now he
31、ld by most experts， can be supported in a number of ways.It is easy to show that intelligence is to some extent something we are born with. The closer the blood relationship between two people， the closer they are likely to be in intelligence. Thus if we take two unrelated people at random（任意的） from
32、 the population，it is likely that their degrees of intelligence will be completely different. If on the other hand we take two identical （完全相同的） twins they will very likely be as intelligent as each other. Relations like brothers and sisters， parents and children， usually have similar intelligence，
33、and this clearly suggests that intelligence depends on birth.Imagine now that we take two identical twins and put them in different environments. We might send one， for example， to a university and the other to a factory where the work is boring. We would soon find differences in intelligence develo
34、ping， and this indicates that environment as well as birth playsa part. This conclusion is also suggested by the fact that people who live in close contact with each other， but who are not related at all， are likely to have similar degrees of intelligence.26. Which of these sentences best describes
35、the writers point in Paragraph 1？A. To some extent， intelligence is given at birth.B. Intelligence is developed by the environment.C. Some people are born clever and others born stupid.D. Intelligence is fixed at birth， but is developed by the environment.27. It is suggested in this passage that_.A.
36、 unrelated people are not likely to have different intelligenceB. close relations usually have similar intelligenceC. the closer the blood relationship between people， the more different they are likely to be in intelligenceD. people who live in close contact with each other are not likely to have s
37、imilar degrees of intelligence28. Brothers and sisters are likely to_.A. have similar intelligence B. have different intelligenceC. go to the same university D. go to the same factory29. In Paragraph 1， the word “surroundings” means_.A. intelligence B. lifeC. environments D. housing30. The best titl
38、e for this article would be_.A. On IntelligenceB. What Intelligence MeansC. We Are Born with IntelligenceD. Environment Plays a Part in Developing Intelligence答案：26. D 27. B 28. A 29. C 30. AHoming pigeons are placed in a training program from about the time they are twenty-eight days of age. They a
39、re taught to enter the cage through a trap and to exercise above and around the loft（鸽棚） ， and gradually they are taken away for short distances in willow baskets and released. They are then expected to find their way home in the shortest possible time.In their training flights or in actual races， t
40、he birds are taken to prearranged distant points and released to find their way back to their own lofts. Once the birds are liberated， their owners， who are standing by at the home lofts， anxiously watch the sky for the return of their entries. Since time is of the essence， the speed with which the
41、birds can be induced to enter the loft trap may make the difference between gaining a win or a second place.The head of a homing pigeon is comparatively small， but its brain is one quarter larger than that of the ordinary pigeon. The homing pigeon is very intelligent and will persevere to the point
42、of stubbornness; some have been known to fly a hundred miles off course to avoid a storm.Some homing pigeon experts claim that this bird is gifted with a form of built-in radar that helps it find its own loft after hours of flight， for hidden under the head feathers are two very sensitive ears， whil
43、e the sharp， prominent eyes can see great distances in daytime.Why do homing pigeons fly home？ They are not unique in this inherent skill; it is found in most migratory birds， in bees， ants， toads， and even turtles， which have been known to travel hundreds of miles to return to their homes. But in t
44、he animal world， the homing pigeon alone can be trusted with its freedom and trained to carry out the missions that people demand.1. This passage is mainly about_.A. homing pigeons and their trainingB. how to buy a homing pigeonC. protection of homing pigeons against the threat of extinctionD. liber
45、ation of homing pigeons2. According to the passage， what happens to homing pigeons when they are about a month old？A. They are kept in a trap.B. They enter their first race.C. They begin a training program.D. They get their wings clipped and marked.3. According to the passage， the difference between
46、 a homing pigeon and an ordinary one is_.A. the span of the wings B. the shape of the eyesC. the texture of the feathers D. the size of the brain4. The author mentions all of the following attributes that enable a homing pigeon toreturn home EXCEPT_.A. instinct B. air sacsC. sensitive ears D. good e
47、yes5. Why does the author mention bees， ants， toads， and turtles in the last paragraph？A. To describe some unusual kinds of pets.B. To measure distances traveled by various animals.C. To compare their home-finding abilities with those of homing pigeons.D. To interest the reader in learning about oth
48、er animals.答案：1. A 2. C 3. D 4. B 5. CThe difference between a liquid and a gas is obvious under the conditions of temperature and pressure commonly found at the surface of the Earth. A liquid can be kept in an open container and fill it to the level of a free surface. A gas forms no free surface bu
49、t tends to diffuse throughout the_1_available; it must therefore be kept in a closed container or held by a gravitational field， as in the_2_of a planets atmosphere. The distinction was a _3_feature of early theories describing the phases of matter. In the nineteenth century， for example， one theory maintained that a liquid could be “d