大学英语六级改革适用(阅读)模拟试卷196(题后含答案及解析)

大学英语六级改革适用（阅读）模拟试卷196 (题后含答案及解析)

题型有： 3. Reading Comprehension

Part III Reading Comprehension

Section C

Some futurologists have assumed that the vast upsurge(剧增)of women in the workforce may portend a rejection of marriage. Many women, according to this hypothesis, would rather work than marry. The converse(反面)of this concern is that the prospects of becoming a multi-paycheck household could encourage marriages. In the past, only the earnings and financial prospects of the man counted in the marriage decision. Now, however, the earning ability of a woman can make her more attractive as a marriage partner. Data show that economic downturns tend to postpone marriage because the parties cannot afford to establish a family or are concerned about rainy days ahead. As the economy rebounds, the number of marriages also rises. Coincident with the increase in women working outside the home is the increase in divorce rates. Yet, it may be wrong to jump to any simple cause-and-effect conclusions. The impact of a wife’s work on divorce is no less cloudy than its impact on marriage decisions. The realization that she can be a good provider may increase the chances that a working wife will choose divorce over an unsatisfactory marriage. But the reverse is equally plausible. Tensions grounded in financial problems often play a key role in ending a marriage. Given high unemployment, inflationary problems, and slow growth in real earnings, a working wife can increase household income and relieve some of these pressing financial burdens. By raising a family’s standard of living, a working wife may strengthen her family’s financial and emotional stability. Psychological factors also should be considered. For example, a wife blocked from a career outside the home may feel caged in the house. She may view her only choice as seeking a divorce. On the other hand, if she can find fulfillment through work outside the home, work and marriage can go together to create a stronger and more stable union. Also, a major part of women’s inequality in marriage has been due to the fact that, in most cases, men have remained the main breadwinners. With higher earning capacity and status occupations outside of the home comes the capacity to exercise power within the family. A working wife may rob a husband of being the master of the house. Depending upon how the couple reacts to these new conditions, it could create a stronger equal partnership or it could create new insecurities.

1． The word “portend”(Line 2, Para. 1)is closest in meaning to “_____”. A．defy B．signal

C．suffer from D．result from

正确答案：B

解析：根据后文讲到的“很多女性宁愿工作而不结婚”，可确定signal“预示着”符合语境，答案为B。defy“公然反抗”词义跟后面的rejection重复；而“进入劳动力市场的妇女剧增”与“拒绝结婚”不构成因果关系，因此排除A、D。 知识模块：仔细阅读

2． It is said in the passage that when the economy slides,_____. A．men would choose working women as their marriage partners B．more women would get married to seek financial security C．even working women would worry about their marriages D．more people would prefer to remain single for the time being

正确答案：D

解析：第1段倒数第2句讲到，有数据表明，经济衰退时，因为双方负担不起组织家庭的费用，或者因为担心往后的日子风雨不顺，人们倾向于推迟婚期。其中economic downturns即题目所说的when the economy slides，所以答案为D。 知识模块：仔细阅读

3． If women find fulfillment through work outside the home,_____. A．they are more likely to dominate their marriage partners B．their husbands are expected to do more housework C．their marriage ties can be strengthened

D．they tend to put their career before marriage

正确答案：C

解析：第3段最后一句讲到，如果妇女通过家庭以外的工作找到成就感，工作和婚姻就可以齐头并进，从而形成更强更稳定的联合，C表述符合文意。A、D项分别出现在最后一段和第1段，但都与题干没有联系，故排除。B没有原文依据。 知识模块：仔细阅读

4． One reason why women with no career may seek a divorce is that _____. A．they feel that they have been robbed of their freedom B．they are afraid of being bossed around by their husbands

C．they feel that their partners fail to live up to their expectations D．they tend to suspect their husbands’ loyalty to their marriage

正确答案：A

解析：第3段第2句讲到，妻子如果不能走出家门从事自己的职业，她可能就会有一种被困在家里的感觉。原文的feel caged体现出没有自由，选项A为其同义改写。 知识模块：仔细阅读

5． Which of the following statements can best summarize the author’s view? A．The stability of marriage and the divorce rate may reflect the economic situation of the country.

B．Even when economically independent, most women have to struggle for real equality in marriage.

C．In order to secure their marriage women should work outside the home and remain independent.

D．The impact of the growing female workforce on marriage varies from case to case.

正确答案：D

解析：文章最后总结道：“妇女外出工作既有可能产生更牢靠的平等夫妻关系，也有可能造成新的不安定因素，这全取决于夫妇双方对这些新的情况做出怎样的反应”，D为本题答案。婚姻的稳定和离婚率与经济形势无关，排除A。最后一段讲到，随着经济独立，妇女在家中更有权力，故B错误。C的表述无原文依据。 知识模块：仔细阅读

Too many vulnerable child-free adults are being ruthlessly(无情的)manipulated into parent-hood by their parents, who think that happiness among older people depends on having a grandchild to spoil. We need an organization to help beat down the persistent campaigns of grandchildless parents. It’s time to establish Planned Grandparenthood, which would have many global and local benefits. Part of its mission would be to promote the risks and realities associated with being a grandparent. The staff would include depressed grandparents who would explain how grandkids break lamps, bite, scream and kick. Others would detail how an hour of baby-sitting often turns into a crying marathon. More grandparents would testify that they had to pay for their grandchild’s expensive college education. Planned grandparenthood’s carefully written literature would detail all the joys of life grandchild-free: a calm living room, extra money for luxuries during the golden years, etc. Potential grandparents would be reminded that, without grandchildren around, it’s possible to have a conversation with your kids, who—incidentally—would have more time for their own parents. Meanwhile, most children are vulnerable to the enormous influence exerted by grandchildless parents aiming to persuade their kids to produce children. They will take a call from a persistent parent, even if they’re loaded with work. In addition, some parents make handsome money offers payable upon the grandchild’s birth. Sometimes these gifts not only cover expenses associated with the infant’s birth, but extras, too, like a vacation. In any case, cash gifts can weaken the resolve of even the noblest person. At Planned Grandparenthood, children targeted by their parents to reproduce could obtain non-biased information about the insanity of having their own kids. The catastrophic psychological and economic costs of childbearing would be emphasized. The symptoms of morning sickness would be listed and horrors of childbirth pictured. A monthly newsletter would contain stories about overwhelmed parents and offer guidance on how childless adults can respond to the different lobbying tactics that would-be grandparents employ. When I think

about all the problems of our overpopulated world and look at our boy grabbing at the lamp by the sofa, I wish I could have turned to Planned Grandparenthood when my parents were putting the grandchild squeeze on me. If I could have, I might not be in this parenthood predicament(窘境). But here’s the crazy irony. I don’t want my child-free life back. Dylan’s too much fun.

6． What’s the purpose of the proposed organization Planned Grandparenthood? A．To encourage childless couples to have children.

B．To provide facilities and services for grandchildless parents. C．To offer counseling to people on how to raise grandchildren. D．To discourage people from insisting on having grandchildren.

正确答案：D 解析：文章第1段第2句讲到，我们需要一个组织来杀杀那些执意坚持抱孙子的父母的气势。接下来一句则讲“是时候建立Planned Grandparenthood了”，可见该组织的目的在于说服人们不要执意坚持要孙子。D中的insisting on having grandchildren是对原文the persistent campaigns的同义改写，为本题答案。 知识模块：仔细阅读

7． Planned Grandparenthood would include depressed grandparents on its staff in order to _____.

A．show them the joys of life grandparents may have in raising grandchildren B．draw attention to the troubles and difficulties grandchildren may cause C．share their experience in raising grandchildren in a more scientific way D．help raise funds to cover the high expense of education for grandchildren

正确答案：B 解析：第2段第2句指出Planned Grandparenthood组织的工作人员应该包括沮丧的祖父母，他们会向人们解释孙子孙女如何打破灯具、乱咬乱叫、拳打脚踢。结合末句提到的“更多的祖父母会作证说明他们还必须为孙子孙女支付昂贵的大学费用”，可知B符合文意。 知识模块：仔细阅读

8． According to the passage, some couples may eventually choose to have children because _____.

A．they find it hard to resist the carrot-and-stick approach of their parents B．they have learned from other parents about the joys of having children C．they feel more and more lonely as they grow older D．they have found it irrational to remain childless

正确答案：A 解析：第4段介绍了绝大部分子女很容易被说服生育孩子的原因，第1句和第3句分别讲述父母的威逼与利诱，符合选项A中“胡萝卜加大棒政策”的含义。其他选项文中没有提到。 知识模块：仔细阅读

9． By saying “... my parents were putting the grandchild squeeze on me”(Lines 2-3, Para. 6), the author means that_____.

A．her parents kept pressuring her to have a child B．her parents liked to have a grandchild in their arms

C．her parents asked her to save for the expenses of raising a child D．her parents kept blaming her for her child’s bad behavior

正确答案：A

解析：题干句子出自第6段，原文使用了虚拟语气，说“当时我父母逼着我生孩子的时候，要是我能够求助于Planned Grandparenthood就好了”，实际上作者并没有得以求助，由此可以推断作者被逼迫生育小孩，答案为A。选项D利用原文our boy grabbing at the lamp by the sofa制造干扰。 知识模块：仔细阅读

10． What does the author really think of the idea of having children? A．It does more harm than good. B．It contributes to overpopulation. C．It is troublesome but rewarding. D．It is a psychological catastrophe.

正确答案：C 解析：最后一段作者讲到，如果她当时求助于Planned Grandparenthood的话，可能就不会陷入现在为人父母的窘境中。随后又讲到她又不想回到没有孩子时的生活。可见作者对有小孩这件事是一分为二的，虽觉得麻烦，但也有令人欣慰的东西，选项C的表述符合文意。 知识模块：仔细阅读

When we worry about who might be spying on our private lives, we usually think about the Federal agents. But the private sector outdoes the government every time. It’s Linda Tripp, not the FBI, who is facing charges under Maryland’s laws against secret telephone taping. It’s our banks, not the Internal Revenue Service(IRS), that pass our private financial data to telemarketing firms. Consumer activists are pressing Congress for better privacy laws without much result so far. The legislators lean toward letting business people track our financial habits virtually at will. As an example of what’s going on, consider U.S. Bancorp, which was recently sued for deceptive practices by the state of Minnesota. According to the lawsuit, the bank supplied a telemarketer called MemberWorks with sensitive customer data such as names, phone numbers, bank-account and credit-card numbers, Social Security numbers, account balances and credit limits. With these customer lists in hand, MemberWorks started dialing for dollars—selling dental plans, videogames, computer software and other products and services. Customers who accepted a “free trial offer” had 30 days to cancel. If the deadline passed, they were charged automatically through their bank or credit-card accounts. U.S. Bancorp collected a share of the revenues. Customers were doubly deceived, the lawsuit claims. They didn’t know that the bank was giving account numbers to MemberWorks. And if customers asked,

they were led to think the answer was no. The state sued MemberWorks separately for deceptive selling. The company denies that it did anything wrong. For its part, U.S. Bancorp settled without admitting any mistakes. But it agreed to stop exposing its customers to nonfinancial products sold by outside firms. A few top banks decided to do the same. Many other banks will still do business with MemberWorks and similar firms. And banks will still be mining data from your account in order to sell you financial products, including things of little value, such as credit insurance and credit-card protection plans. You have almost no protection from businesses that use your personal accounts for profit. For example, no federal law shields “transaction and experience” information—mainly the details of your bank and credit-card accounts. Social Security numbers are for sale by private firms. They’ve generally agreed not to sell to the public. But to businesses, the numbers are an open book. Self-regulation doesn’t work. A firm might publish a privacy-protection policy, but who enforces it? Take U.S. Bancorp again. Customers were told, in writing, that “all personal information you supply to us will be considered confidential.” Then it sold your data to MemberWorks. The bank even claims that it doesn’t “sell” your data at all. It merely “shares” it and reaps a profit. Now you know.

11． Contrary to popular belief, the author finds that spying on people’s privacy _____.

A．is mainly carried out by means of secret taping B．has been intensified with the help of the IRS C．is practiced exclusively by the FBI D．is more prevalent in business circles

正确答案：D

解析：第1段前两句讲到，当我们担忧私人生活会被谁窥探时，常常想到FBI，实际上私人企业胜过政府。接着用强调句指出，是银行窃取了私人信息，可见D正确。A、B分别利用文中的secret telephone taping和IRS制造干扰，其表述无原文依据。C表述与原文不符。 知识模块：仔细阅读

12． We know from the passage that _____.

A．legislators are acting to pass a law to provide better privacy protection

B．most states are turning a blind eye to the deceptive practices of private businesses

C．the state of Minnesota is considering drawing up laws to protect private information

D．lawmakers are inclined to give a free hand to businesses to inquire into customers’ buying habits

正确答案：D 解析：第2段最后一句讲到，立法者实际上倾向于让商人随心所欲地跟踪我们的消费习惯，选项D是该句子的同义转述。文中仅提到consumer activists给

国会施压，以出台保护隐私的法律，但迄今仍没有结果，A表述与原文不符；B所说的“很多州视而不见”与原文不符，第3段就讲到明尼苏达州指控U．S．Bancorp对消费者的欺骗行为；C项文中未提及。 知识模块：仔细阅读

13． When the “free trial” deadline is over, you’ll be charged without notice for a product or service if_____.

A．you fail to cancel it within the specified period B．you happen to reveal your credit card number C．you find the product or service unsatisfactory D．you fail to apply for extension of the deadline

正确答案：A 解析：第4段第2、3句讲到，接受免费试用的顾客们可在30天内取消订购。若是过了最后期限，就会通过银行或信用卡账户扣除相应费用，由此得出答案为A。 知识模块：仔细阅读

14． Businesses do not regard information concerning personal bank accounts as private because_____.

A．its revelation will do no harm to consumers under the current protection policy

B．it is considered “transaction and experience” information unprotected by law C．it has always been considered an open secret by the general public D．its sale can be brought under control through self-regulation

正确答案：B

解析：倒数第二段前两句讲到，关于企业利用你的个人账户来赢利，你几乎毫无保障，没有一部联邦法律会保护“交易往来”信息。B表述与原文相符。 知识模块：仔细阅读

15． We can infer from the passage that______.

A．banks will have to change their ways of doing business B．privacy protection laws will soon be enforced C．consumers’ privacy will continue to be invaded D．free trial practice will eventually be banned

正确答案：C

解析：第6段讲到，U．S．Bancorp受指控后，同意不再把客户资料泄漏给兜售非金融产品的外界公司，一些大银行也决定这么做。但依然有很多其他银行与MemberWorks公司及其他类似的公司做生意，由此可见，人们的私人信息依然会被泄露盗取，故选C。A与原文will still do business不符；B、D无原文依据。 知识模块：仔细阅读

The military aspect of the United States Civil War has always attracted the most attention from scholars. The roar of gunfire, the massed movements of

uniformed men, the shrill of bugles, and the drama of hand-to-hand combat have fascinated students of warfare for a century. Behind the lines, however, life was less spectacular. It was the story of back-breaking labor to provide the fighting men with food and arms, of nerve-tingling uncertainty about the course of national events, of heartbreak over sons or brothers or husbands, lost in battle. If the men on the firing line won the victories, the means to those victories were forged on the home front. Never in the nation’s history had Americans worked harder for victory than in the Civil War. Northerners and Southerners alike threw themselves into the task of supplying their respective armies. Both governments made tremendous demands upon civilians and, in general, received willing cooperation. By 1863 the Northern war economy was rumbling along in high gear. Everything from steamboats to shovels was needed—and produced. Denied Southern cotton, textile mills turned to wool for blankets and uniforms. Hides by the hundreds of thousands were turned into shoes and harness and saddles; iron works manufactured locomotives, ordnance, armor plate. Where private enterprise lagged, the government set up its own factories or arsenals. Agriculture boomed, with machinery doing the job of farm workers who were drawn into the army. In short, everything that a nation needed to fight a modern war was produced in uncounted numbers. Inevitably there were profiteers with gold-headed canes and flamboyant diamond stickpins, but for every crooked tycoon there were thousands of ordinary citizens living on fixed incomes who did their best to cope with rising prices and still make a contribution to the war effort.

16． According to the passage, what was the civilian response towards the Civil War?

A．They hated it and rose in lots of rebellions. B．They were deeply worried and cursed it. C．They migrated to avoid the ruthless war. D．They went all out to supply the army.

正确答案：D

解析：第1段开始讲到美国内战壮丽的战争场景，然后笔锋一转，说战后方又是另一幅画面：平民们辛苦地支持着前方，关注着战事。在第2段也提到，不管是南方还是北方的人。都全力以赴地支持各自的军队。另外在第4段最后，谈到平民竭力为战争做出贡献，因此平民对于战争是积极响应和支持的．故答案为D。 知识模块：仔细阅读

17． By saying “If the men on the firing line won the victories, the means to those victories were forged on the home front”(Lines 6-7, Para. 1), the author implies that ____.

A．there was only warfare on the home front B．there was only warfare on the fire line

C．without the home front, there would not have been victories on the fire line D．the home front contributed little to the civil war

正确答案：C

解析：这句话的意思是“如果前线打了胜仗，那么这些胜利是靠后方阵线的支持而铸就的”，且第1段重点描述了平民对战争的支持，可见，作者在此是要强调后方的重要性，故选C。 知识模块：仔细阅读

18． The word “Hides”(Line 3, Para. 3)is closest in meaning to _____. A．animal skins B．tree trunks C．disguises D．shelters

正确答案：A

解析：本题要求根据文章上下文来猜测hide在特定语境中的含义。第3段第4句说Hides被制作成鞋子、挽具和马鞍，可推知Hides指某种材料。C、D显然是不能制作成鞋子、挽具等，故排除；B“树桩”也不太可能做成文中所说的那些东西。只有A“兽皮”最合适。 知识模块：仔细阅读

19． From the passage, we can infer that _____.

A．diamond became very expensive during the Civil War

B．all the people had to live on fixed income during the Civil War C．there was a rise in price during the Civil War

D．even the rich made a contribution to the Civil War

正确答案：C 解析：由文章最后一句中的…there were thousands of ordinary citizens．．．who did their best to cope with rising prices可知，在战争期间，物价上涨了，故直接选C。A在文中没有依据，B过于绝对，原文中只是说平民百姓这样；D与原文意思相悖。 知识模块：仔细阅读

20． Which of the following is the BEST title for the passage? A．Why Did the South Lose the Civil War? B．The Civilian Response to the Civil War. C．The Causes of the Civil War.

D．Where Were the Civil War Battles Fought?

正确答案：B

解析：通读整篇文章，讲的都是平民如何响应政府、支持战争，并为战争的胜利尽自己最大的努力，所以主题应当是B。A、C、D在文中都没有提及。 知识模块：仔细阅读