英语六级模拟试卷(29)--阅读3

文章作者 100test 发表时间 2007:09:18 12:02:44
来源 100Test.Com百考试题网

Passage Three
Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage:

A strange thing about humans is their capacity for blind rage. Rage is presumably an emotion resulting from survival instinct, but the surprising thing about it is that we do not deploy it against other animals. If we encounter a dangerous wild animal - a poisonous snake or a wild cat - we do not fly into a temper. If we are unarmed, we show fear and attempt to back away. if we are suitably armed, we attack, but in a rational manner not in a rage. We reserve rage for our own species. It is hard to see any survival value in attacking one’s own, but if we take account of the long competition, which must have existed between our own subspecies and others like Neanderthal man - indeed others still more remote from us than Neanderthal man - human rage becomes more comprehensible. 

In our everyday language and behavior there are many reminders of those early struggles. We are always using the words “us and them”. “Our” side is perpetually trying to do down the “other” side. In games we artificially create other subspecies we can attack. The opposition of “us” and “them” is the touchstone of the two-party system of “democratic” politics. Although there are no very serious consequences to many of these modern psychological representations of the “us and them” emotion, it is as well to remember that the original aim was not to beat the other subspecies in a game but to exterminate it. 

The readiness with which humans allow themselves to be regimented has permitted large armies to be formed, which, taken together with the “us and them” blind rage, has led to destructive clashes within our subspecies itself. The First World War is an example in which Europe divided itself into two imaginary subspecies. And there is a similar extermination battle now in Northern Ireland. The idea that there is a religious basis for this clash is illusory, for not even the Pope has been able to control it. The clash is much more primitive than the Christian religion, much older in its emotional origin. The conflict in Ireland is unlikely to stop until a greater primitive fear is imposed from outside the community, or until the combatants become exhausted. 

31.A suitable title for this passage would be____. 
A) Why Human Armies Are Formed
B) Man’s Anger Against Rage
C) The Human Capacity for Rage
D) Early Struggles of Angry Man 

32.According to the author, the surprising aspect of human anger is____. 
A) its lengthy and complex development
B) a conflict such as is now going on in Northern Ireland
C) that we do not fly into a temper more often
D) that we reserve anger for mankind 

33.The passage suggests that____. 
A) historically, we have created an “us” versus “them” society
B) humans have had a natural disinclination toward formal grouping
C) the First World War is an example of how man has always avoided domination
D) the emotional origin of the war in Ireland is lost in time 

34.From the passage we can infer that ____. 
A) the artificial creation of a subspecies unlike us is something that never happens
B) games are psychologically unhealthy
C) any artificially created subspecies would be our enemy
D) the real or imagined existence of an opposing subspecies is inherent in man’s activities 

35.The author believes that a religious explanation for the war in Northern Ireland is____. 
A) founded in historical fact
B) deceptive
C) apparent
D) probably accurate


Passage Three
内容概要:本文介绍人类所具有的盲目的愤怒。愤怒可能是来自于求生本能的一种情感，但令人奇怪的是，人类从不把愤怒发泄到其他动物身上，而是在同种类的人身上。在我们日常生活的言语行为中，我们常常使用“我们与他们”这样的字眼，“我们”这边最终要战胜“他们”那边。在各种比赛中，我们也人为地制造出自己的对立面。人类这种“我们与他们”的心态导致了人与人之间毁灭性的冲突。
31.【答案】C。
【译文】根据短文得知，文章合适的标题可能是人类的愤怒。
【试题分析】主旨题。通过文章的主题句可以得知答案。
【详细解答】见文章开篇第一句，即主题句：A strange thing about humans is their capacity for blind rage。 所以答案为C。 
32.【答案】D。
【译文】根据短文得知，令人奇怪的是，人类的愤怒总是发泄在同种类的人身上。
【试题分析】细节题。通过题干回到文章中找对应的地方便可以得知答案。
【详细解答】见第一段第二句but the surprising thing about it is that we do not deploy it against other animals，和第五句We reserve rage for our own species，所以答案为D。
33.【答案】A。
【译文】根据短文得知，文章暗示从历史的角度来看，我们人为地制造了一个“我们”与“他们”相对立的社会。
【试题分析】推断题。通过选项回到文章中找对应的地方便可以得知答案。
【详细解答】见最后一段：The readiness with which humans allow themselves to be regimented has permitted large armies to be formed, which, taken together with the “us and them” blind rage, has led to destructive clashes within our subspecies itself. The First World War is an example in which Europe divided itself into two imaginary subspecies. And there is a similar extermination battle now in Northern Ireland. The idea that there is a religious basis for this clash is illusory, for not even the Pope has been able to control it. The clash is much more primitive than the Christian religion, much older in its emotional origin. The conflict in Ireland is unlikely to stop until a greater primitive fear is imposed from outside the community, or until the combatants become exhausted，所以答案为A。
34.【答案】D。
【译文】从本文我们可以推断出在人类活动中，作为对立面的亚种类是真实存在的，或者是想象出来的。
【试题分析】推断题。通过选项回到文章中找相关的句子来推断，便可以得知答案。
【详细解答】见第二段段首：In our everyday language and behavior there are many reminders of those early struggles. We are always using the words “us and them”. “Our” side is perpetually trying to do down the “other” side. In games we artificially create other subspecies we can attack，所以答案为D。
35.【答案】B。
【译文】根据短文得知，作者相信，从宗教的角度来解释北爱尔兰战争是迷惑人的。
【试题分析】词义题。通过对文章中illusionary的理解便可以得知答案。
【详细解答】见最后一段第四句：The idea that there is a religious basis for this clash is illusory（迷惑人的，虚幻的）, 所以答案为B。