英语专业四级考试全真模拟试卷三(2)

文章作者 100test 发表时间 2007:05:07 16:00:13
来源 100Test.Com百考试题网

PART Ⅵ

READING COMPREHENSION[WT5] ［30 MIN.］

SECTION A READING COMPREHENSION［25 MIN.］

In this section there are five passages followed by questions or unfinished statements, each with four suggested answers marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that you think is the correct answer. Mark your choice on your ANSWER SHEET.

TEXT A

One of the most fascinating questions about human behavior is each person is different from all others. The answer to this question would explain the aspect of human nature called personality. Some theories assume that inborn characteristics determine human personality. Many observers have hypothesized that each person has a dominant temperament, present from birth, that influences his or her behavior during an entire lifetime. According to one of these theories, people can be classified into four basic types: sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic and melancholic. Each type or temperament is characterized by a unique set of possible strengths and possible weaknesses.
Sanguine people are described as the most outgoing of the four temperaments. They are warm, fun-loving, and like the company of others. Because of these strengths, it is said that sanguines often make good salesmen, actors, or public speakers. Sanguines, however, may have some serious weaknesses. Their problem often come from their lack of discipline. Easily distracted, they often lack the concentrationto complete a job or other people may not trust them.
Choleric people, are quite different from the carefree, emotional sanguines. Because of their strong will, decisiveness, and productivity, cholerics are natural leaders who are good at making vast plans and motivating other people to help them carry out their plans. They are often successful in business, industry, or politics. Choleric weaknesses can be very damaging, however. Because a strong desire to lead, they can be cruel and cold towards those who do not wish to follow. They often do not listen to advice from others, and once they make a decision, they may became hostile towards anyone who questioning that decision. 
Phlegmatics are calm, easy-going people who strive for efficiency and organization. Very diplomatic and polite, they make people feel comfortable and generally help keep things running smoothly. For these reasons, they make good teachers, technicians, etc. Phlegmatics, however, often have weaknesses that keep them from becoming successful. Afraid to take chances, they may avoid taking any steps to improve their position in life.
Melancholics are often considered to be gifted persons who possess creative talent. They are very analytical and able to understand complicated processes and to note detail. These people can make good doctors, scientists, artists, writers, and musicians. Melancholics are also said to be loyal, idealistic and self-sacrificing. However, melancholics frequently make themselves miserable because they tend to be negative and critical, and put up inflexible standards. They attach importance to everything they do, so they worry too much and see problems everywhere, and complain too much. They often become disappointed because neither they nor the people around them can live up to their high standards.
Explaining human personality in terms of innate temperaments is a theory that has not been generally accepted by psychologists. They criticize it for being too simplistic and unscientific. This may be so : however, present-day psychologists have been unable to formulate a single theory.

66. The word “dominant” probably means____.

A. primaryB. greatC. minorD. insignificant

67. What are said to be the most important feature of Choleric people?

A.Cruel but sympathetic.

B.Decisive and cold.

C.Hostile and fun-loving.

D.Strong-willed and polite.

68. Who are likely to be rejected by a bright-future project?

A. Cholerics.B. Sanguines.

C. Melancholics.D. Phlegmatics.

TEXT B

A few common misconceptions: Beauty is only skin-deep. One’s physical assets and liabilities don’t count all that much in a managerial career. A woman should always try to look her best.
Over the last 30 years, social scientists have conducted more than 1,000 studies of how we react to beautiful and not-so-beautiful people. The virtually unanimous conclusion: Looks do matter, more than most of us realize. The data suggest, for example, that physically attractive individuals are more likely to be treated well by their parents, sought out as friends, and pursued romantically. With the possible exception of women seeking managerial jobs, they are also more likely to be hired, paid well, and promoted.UN-American, you say, unfair and extremely unbelievable? Once again, the scientists have caught us mouthing pieties while acting just the contrary. Their typical experiment works something like this. They give each member of a group-college students, perhaps, or teachers or corporate personnel managers——a piece of paper relating an individual’s accomplishments. Attached to the paper is a photograph. While the papers all say exactly the same thing the picture are different. Some show a strikingly attractive person, some an average-looking character, and some an unusually unattractive human being. Group members are asked to rate the individual on certain attributes, anything from personal warmth to the likelihood that he or she will be promoted.
Almost invariably, the better looking the person in the picture, the higher the person is rated. In the phrase, borrowed from Sappho, that the social scientists use to sum up the common perception, what is beautiful is good.
In business, however, good looks cut both ways for women, and deeper than for men. A Utah State University professor, who is an authority on the impact of physical attractiveness on males is only modest. But its potential impact on females can be tremendous, making it easier, for example, for the more attractive to get jobs where they are in the public eye. On another note, though, there is enough literature now for us to conclude that attractive women who aspire to managerial position do not get on as well as women who may be less attractive.

69. According to the passage, people often wrongly believe that in pursuing a career as manager____.

A.a person’s property or debts do not matter much

B.a person’s outward appearance is not a critical qualification

C. women should always dress fashionably

D.women should not only be attractive but also high-minded

70. Experiments by scientists have shown that when people evaluate individuals on certain attributes,____

A. they observe the principle that beauty is only skin-deep

B. they do not usually act according to the views they support

C. they give ordinary-looking persons the lowest rating

D. they tend to base their judgment on the individual’s accomplishment

TEXT C

Video recorders and photocopiers, even ticket machines on the railway, often seem unnecessarily difficult to use. Last December I bought myself a video cassette recorder (VCR) described as “simple to use”. In the first three weeks I failed repeatedly to program the machine to record from the TV, and after months of practice I still made mistakes. I am not alone. According to a survey last year by Ferguson, the British manufacturer, more than in four VCR owners never use the timer on their machines to record a programme: they don’t use it because theyve found it far too hard to operate.
So why do manufacturers keep on designing and producing VCRs that are awkward to use if the problems are so obvious? First, the problems are not obvious to technically minded designers with years of experience and trained to understand how appliances work. Secondly, designers tend to add one or two features at a time to each model, whereas you or I face all a machine’s features at once. Thirdly, although finding problems in a finished product is easy, it is too late by then to do anything about the design. Finally, if manufacturers can get away with selling products that are difficult to use, it is not worth the effort of any one of them to make improvements.
Some manufacturers say they concentrate on proving a wide range of features rather than on making the machines easy to use. But that gives rise to the question, “Why can’t you have features that are easy to use?” The answer is you can.
Good design practice is a mixture of specific procedures and general principles. For a start, designers should build an original model of the machine and try it out on typical members of the public——not on colleagues in the development laboratory. Simple public trials would quickly reveal many design mistakes. In an ideal world, there would be some ways of controlling quality such as that the VCR must be redesigned repeatedly until, say, 90 per cent of users can work 90 per cent of the features correctly 90 per cent of the time.

71. According to the passage, before a VCR is sold on the market its original model should be tried out____.

A.among ordinary consumers who are not technically minded

B.among people who are technically minded

C.among experienced technicians and potential users

D.among people who are in charge of public relations

72. One of the reasons why VCRs are so difficult to use is that____.

A. the designers are often insensitive to the operational complexities of their machines

B. the range of features provided is unlimited

C. there is no ideal way of controlling quality

D. Their designers often ignore the complaints of their users

73. What did the author mean by “ I am not alone” in paragraph 1?

A. He and his family all didn’t know how to use the machine.

B. His family supported his opinion.

C. Many people faced the trouble as he did.

D. He was a popular guy.