TXET 1 ：2013年在职工程硕士英语阅读理解练习及答案
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"Welcome to the U. S. A. I Major Credit cards accepted !"
By the millions they are coming—no longer the tired, the poor, the wretched masses longing for a better living. These are the wealthy. "We don't have a budget," says a biologist from Brazil, as she walks with two companions through New York City's South Street. "We just use our credit cards."
The U. S. has long been one of the world's most popular tourist destinations, but this year has been exceptional. First there was the World Cup, which drew thousands from every corner of the globe; then came the weakening of the U.S. dollar against major currencies. Now the U. S., still the world's superpower, can also claim to be the world's bargain basement (廉价商品部) . Nobody undersells America these days on just about everything, from consumer electronics to fashion clothes to tennis rackets. Bottom retail prices— anywhere from 30% to 70% lower than those in Europe and Asia—have attracted some 47 million visitors, who are expected to leave behind $ 79 billion in 1994. That's up from $ 74 billion the year before.
True, not everyone comes just for bargains. There remains an undeniable fascination in the rest of the world with all things American, nourished by Hollywood films and U. S. television series. But shopping the U. S. A. is proving irresistible. Every week thousands arrive with empty suitcases ready to be filled; some even rent an additional hotel room to hold their purchases. The buying binge (无节制) has become as important as watching Old Faithful Fountains erupt in Yellowstone Park or sunbathing on a beach in Florida.
The U.S. has come at last to appreciate what other countries learned long ago: the pouring in of foreign tourists may not always be convenient, but it does put money in the bank. And with a trade deficit at about $130 billion and growing for the past 12 months, the U.S. needs all the deposits it can get. Compared with American tourists abroad, visitors to the U.S. stay longer and spend more money at each stop; an average of 12.2 night and $1624 a traveler versus the Americans' four night and $ 298.
1. From what the Brazilian biologist says, we know that tourists like her .
A. are reluctant to carry cash with them
B. simply don't care how much they spend
C. are not good at planning their expenditure
D. often spend more money than they can afford
2. The reason why 1994 was exceptional is that .
A. it saw an unusually large number of tourists to the U. S.
B. it witnessed a drop in the number of tourists to the U. S.
C. tourism was hardly affected by the weakening of the U.S. dollar that year
D. tourists came to the U.S. for sightseeing rather than for bargains that year
3. By saying "nobody undersells America" (Line 4, Para. 3), the author means that .
A. no other country underestimates the competitiveness of American products
B. nobody expects the Americans to cut the prices of their commodities
C. nobody restrains the selling of American goods
D. no other country sells at a lower price than America
4. Why does the author assert that all American things are fascinating to foreigners?
A. Because they have gained much publicity through the American media.
B. Because they represent the world's latest fashions.
C. Because they embody the most sophisticated technology.
D. Because they are available at all tourist destinations.
5. From the passage we can conclude that the U.S. has come to realize .
A. the weakening if the U.S. dollar can result in trade deficits
B. the lower the retail prices, the greater the profits
C. tourism can make great contributions to its economy
D. visitors to the U.S. are wealthier than U.S. tourists abroad
参考答案：B A D A C
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The way people hold to the belief that a fun filled, painfree life equals happiness actually reduces their chances of ever attaining real happiness. If fun and pleasure are equal to happiness then pain must be equal to unhappiness. But in fact, the opposite is true: more often than not things that lead to happiness involve some pain.
As a result, many people avoid the very attempts that are the source of true happiness. They fear the pain inevitably brought by such things as marriage, raising children, professional achievement, religious commitment (承担的业务) , self improvement.
Ask a bachelor (单身汉) why he resists marriage even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying. If he is honest he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment. For commitment is in fact quite painful. The single life is filled with fun, adventure, excitement. Marriage has such moments, but they are not its most distinguishing features.
Couples with infant children are lucky to get a whole night's sleep or a three day vacation. I don't know any parent who would choose the word fun to describe raising children. But couple who decide not to have children never know the joys of watching a child grow up or of playing with a grandchild.
Understanding and accepting that true happiness has nothing to do with fun is one of the most liberating realizations. It liberates time: now we can devote more hours to activities that can genuinely increase our happiness. It liberates money: buying that new car or those fancy clothes that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless. And it liberates us from envy: we now understand that all those who are always having so much fun actually may not be happy at all.
1. According to the author, a bachelor resists marriage chiefly because .
A. he is reluctant to take on family responsibilities
B. he believes that life will be more cheerful if he remains single
C. he finds more fun in dating than in marriage
D. he fears it will put an end to all his fun adventure and excitement
2. Raising children, in the author's opinion, is .
A. a moral duty
B. a thankless job
C. a rewarding task
D. a source of inevitable pain
3. From the last paragraph, we learn that envy sometimes stems from .
A. hatred
B. misunderstanding
C. prejudice
D. ignorance
4. To understand what true happiness is one must .
A. have as much run as possible during one's lifetime
B. make every effort to liberate oneself from pain
C. put up with pain under all circumstances
D. be able to distinguish happiness from fun
5. What is the author trying to tell us?
A. Happiness often goes hand in hand with pain.
B. One must know how to attain happiness.
C. It is important to make commitments.
D. It is pain that leads to happiness.
参考答案：A C B D A
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We all have offensive breath at one time or another. In most cases, offensive breath emanates from bacteria in the mouth, although there are other, more surprising causes.
Until a few years ago, the most doctors could do was to counsel patients with bad breath about oral cleanliness. Now they are finding new ways to treat the usually curable condition.
Bad breath can happen whenever the normal flow of saliva (唾液) slows. Our mouths are full of bacteria feeding on protein in bits of food and shed tissue. The bacteria emit evil-smelling gases, the worst of which is hydrogen sulfide (硫化物) .
Mouth bacteria thrive in airless conditions. Oxygen-rich saliva keeps their numbers down. When we sleep, for example, the saliva stream slows, and sulfur-producing bacteria gain the upper hand, producing classic "morning breath".
Alcohol, hunger, too much talking, breathing through the mouth during exercise— anything that dries the mouth produces bad breath. So can stress, though it's not understood why. Some people's breath turns sour every time they go on a job interview.
Saliva flow gradually slows with age. which explains why the elderly have more bad-breath trouble than younger people do. Babies, however, who make plenty of saliva and whose mouths contain relatively few bacteria have characteristically sweet breath.
For most of us, the simple, dry-mouth variety of bad breath is easily cured. Eating or drinking starts saliva and sweeps away many of the bacteria. Breakfast often stops morning breath.
Those with chronic dry mouth find that it helps to keep gum, hard candy, or a bottle of water or juice around. Brushing the teeth wipes out dry-mouth bad breath because it clears away many of the offending bacteria.
Surprisingly, one thing that rarely works is mouthwash. The liquid can mask bad-breath odor with its own smell, but the effect lasts no more than an hour. Some mouthwashes claim to kill the bacteria responsible for bad breath. The trouble is, they don't necessarily reach all offending germs. Most bacteria are well protected from mouthwash unde, thick layers of mucus (粘液). If the mouthwash contains alcohol—as most do—it can intensify the problem by drying out the mouth.
1. The phrase "emanate from" in Paragraph 1 most probably means .
A. thrive on
B. account for
C. originate from
D. descend from
2. Which of the following is mentioned as one of the causes of bad breath?
A. Tooth trouble.
B. Sulfur-rich food.
C. Too much exercise.
D. Mental strain.
3. According to the passage, alcohol has something to do with bad breath mainly because .
A. it keeps offending bacteria from reproducing
B. its smell adds to bad breath
C. it kills some helpful bacteria
D. it affects the normal flow of saliva
4. Mouthwashes are not an effective cure for bad breath mainly because .
A. they can't mask the bad odor long enough
B. they can't get to all the offending bacteria
C. their strong smell mixes with bad breath and makes it worse
D. they can't cover the thick layers of mucus
5. We can infer from this passage that .
A. offensive breath can't easily be cured
B. elderly people are less offended by bad breath
C. heavy drinkers are less affected by bad breath
D. offensive breath is less affected by alcohol
参考答案：C D D B A
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Not content with its doubtful claim to produce cheap food for our own population, the factory farming industry also argues that "hungry nations are benefiting from advances made by the poultry (家禽) industry". In fact, rather than helping the fight against malnutrition (营养不良) in "hungry nations", the spread of factory farming has, inevi tably aggravated the prohlem.
Large-scale intensive meat and poultry production is a waste of food resources. This is because more protein has to be fed to animals in the form of vegetable matter than can ever be recovered in the form of meat. Much of the food value is lost in the animal's process of digestion and cell replacement. Neither, in the case of chicken, can one eat feathers, blood, feet or head. In all, only about 44% of the live animal fits to be eaten as meat.
This means one has to feed approximately 9—10 times as much food value to the animal than one can consume from the carcass. As a system for feeding the hungry, the effects can prove disastrous. At times of crisis, grain is the food of life.
Nevertheless, the huge increase in poultry production throughout Asia and Africa continues. Normally British or US firms are involved. For instance, an American based multinational company has this year announced its involvement in projects in several African contries. Britain's largest suppliers chickens, Ross Breeders, are also involved in projects all over the world.
Because such trade is good for exports, western governments encourage it. In 1979, a firm in Bangladesh called Phoenix Poultry received a grant to set up a unit of 6,000 chickens and 18,000 laying hens. This almost doubled the number of pouhry kept in the country all at once.
But Bangladesh lacks capital, energy and food and has large numbers of unemployed. Such chicken-raising de mands capital for building and machinery, extensive use of energy resources for automation, and involves feeding chickens with potential famine-relief protein food. At present, one of Bangladesh's main imports is food grains, be cause the country is unable to grow enough food to feed its population. On what then can they possibly feed the chicken?
1. In this passage the author argues that .
A. efficiency must be raised in the poultry industry
B. raising poultry can provide more protein than growing grain
C. factory farming will do more harm than good to developing countries
D. hungry nations may benefit from the development of the poultry industry
2. According to the author, in factory, vegetable food .
A. is easy for chickens to digest
B. is insufficient for the needs of poultry
C. is fully utilized in meat and egg production
D. is inefficiently converted into meat and eggs
3. Western governments encourage the poultry industry in Asia because they regard it as an effective way to .
A. boost their own exports
B. alleviate malnutrition in Asian countries
C. create job opportunities in Asian countries
D. promote the exports of Asian countries
4. The word "carcass" (Line 2, Para. 3 ) most probably means .
A. vegetables preserved for future use
B. the dead body of an animal ready to be cut into meat
C. expensive food that consumers can hardly afford
D. meat canned for future consumption
5. What the last paragraph tells us is the author's .
A. detailed analysis of the ways of raising poultry in Bangladesh
B. great appreciation of the development of poultry industry in Bangladesh
C. critical view on the development of the poultry industry in Bangladesh
D. practical suggestion for the improvement of the poultry industry in Bangladesh
参考答案：C D A B C