第四部分：阅读理解(第31~45题，每题3分，共45分)
下面有3篇短文，每篇短文后有5道题，每题后面有4个选项。请仔细阅读短文并根据短文回答其后面的问题，从4个选项中选择1个最佳答案涂在答题卡相应的位置上。
第一篇 Telling Tales about People
One of the most common types of nonfiction, and one that many people enjoy reading, is stories about people's lives. These stories fall into three general categories: autobiography, memoir, and biography.
An autobiography is the story of a person's life written by himself or herself. Often it begins with the person's earliest recollections and ends in the present. Autobiography writers may not be entirely objective in the way they present themselves. However, they offer the reader a good look at the way they are and what makes them that way. People as diverse as Benjamin Franklin and Helen Keller have written autobiographies of other writers, such as James Joyce, have written thinly fictionalized accounts of their lives. These are not autobiographies, but they are very close to it.
Memoirs, strictly speaking, are autobiographical accounts that focus as much on the events of the times as on the life of the author. 2Memoir writers typically use these events as backdrops for their lives. They describe them in detail and discuss their importance. Recently, though, the term memoir seems to be becoming interchangeable with autobiography. A memoir nowadays may or may not deal with the outside world.
Biographies are factual accounts of someone else's life. In many senses, these may be the hardest of the three types to write. Autobiography writers know the events they write about because they lived them. But biography writers have to gather information from as many different sources as possible. Then they have to decide which facts to include. Their goal is to present a balanced picture of a person, not one that is overly positive or too critical. A fair, well-presented biography may take years to research and write.
31. This passage is mostly about________.
A) the characteristics of autobiographies, memoirs, and biographies
B) famous autobiographies
C) why biography can be difficult to write
D) differences between autobiographies and memoirs
32. Helen Keller wrote________.
A) a memoir
B) an autobiography
C) a work of fiction
D) a biography
33. Autobiography writers are not always objective because they________.
A) feel they have to make up details to make their books sell
B) constantly compete with biography writers
C) want to present themselves in a good light
D) have trouble remembering the good times
34. The writer introduces each category in the passage by________.
A) defining it
B) giving an example
C) explaining why it is hard to write
D) telling when people first began writing it
35. Diverse means________.
A) able to swim in deep water
B) similar or alike
C) varied or different
D) enjoying poetry
第二篇 The State of Marriage Today
Is there something seriously wrong with marriage today? During the past 50 years, the rate of divorce in the United States has exploded: almost 50% of marriages end in divorce now, and the evidence suggests it is going to get worse. If this trend continues, it will lead to the breakup of the family, according to a spokesperson for the National Family Association. Some futurists predict that in 100 years, the average American will marry at least four times, and extramaritai(婚外的) affairs will be even more common than they are now.
But what are the reasons for this, and is the picture really so gloomy (明暗的)? The answer to the first question is really quite simple: marriage is no longer the necessity it once was. The institution of marriage has been based for years partly on economic need. Women used to be economically dependent on their husbands-as they usually didn't have jobs outside the home. But with the rising number of women in well-paying jobs, this i:a no longer the case, so they don't feel that they need to stay in a failing marriage.
In answer to the second question, the outlook may not be as pessimistic (悲观的) as it seems. While the rate of divorce has risen; the rate of couples marrying has never actually fallen very much, so marriage is still quite popular. In addition to this, many couples now simply live together and don't bother to marry. These couples are effectively married, but they do not appear in either the marriage or divorce statistics. In fact, more than 50% of first marriages survive.
So is marriage really an outdated institution? The fact that most people still get married indicates that it isn't. And it is also true that married couples have a healthier life than single people: they suffer less from stress and its consequences, such as heart problems, and married men generally consider themselves more contented than their single counterparts. Perhaps the key is to find out what makes a successful marriage and apply it to all of our relationships!
36. Which of the following is true about the marriage in the United States today?
A. Divorce leads to the breakup of the family.
B. More and more people are getting divorced.
C. More than half of the married couples get divorced.
D. American people marry more than four times.
37. What does "this is no longer the case" in paragraph 2 mean?
A. Women are not economically dependent any more.
B. It is not necessary to get married any more.
C. Women do not need a husband any longer.
D. Many wives do well-paying jobs outside home now.
38. Why is the outlook of marriage not as hopeless as it appears?
A. The rate of divorce has actually decreased.
B. Over 60% of the marriages continue to exist.
C. The statistics of divorce is reliable.
D. Many people still like to get married.
39. How do most men feel in their marriage life?
A. They feel much stronger than before.
B. They feel more satisfied than being single.
C. They don't feel as lonely as before.
D. They suffer more than before.
40. Which of the following about marriage is NOT mentioned in the passage?
A. It is important to discover what makes a marriage successful.
B. Many people went abroad after divorce.
C. Marriage has long been partly an economic need.
D. It is a fact that most people choose to get married.
第二篇 The State of Marriage Today
Is there something seriously wrong with marriage today? During the past 50 years, the rate of divorce in the United States has exploded: almost 50% of marriages end in divorce now, and the evidence suggests it is going to get worse. If this trend continues, it will lead to the breakup of the family, according to a spokesperson for the National Family Association. Some futurists predict that in 100 years, the average American will marry at least four times, and extramaritai(婚外的) affairs will be even more common than they are now.
But what are the reasons for this, and is the picture really so gloomy (明暗的)? The answer to the first question is really quite simple: marriage is no longer the necessity it once was. The institution of marriage has been based for years partly on economic need. Women used to be economically dependent on their husbands-as they usually didn't have jobs outside the home. But with the rising number of women in well-paying jobs, this i:a no longer the case, so they don't feel that they need to stay in a failing marriage.
In answer to the second question, the outlook may not be as pessimistic (悲观的) as it seems. While the rate of divorce has risen; the rate of couples marrying has never actually fallen very much, so marriage is still quite popular. In addition to this, many couples now simply live together and don't bother to marry. These couples are effectively married, but they do not appear in either the marriage or divorce statistics. In fact, more than 50% of first marriages survive.
So is marriage really an outdated institution? The fact that most people still get married indicates that it isn't. And it is also true that married couples have a healthier life than single people: they suffer less from stress and its consequences, such as heart problems, and married men generally consider themselves more contented than their single counterparts. Perhaps the key is to find out what makes a successful marriage and apply it to all of our relationships!
36. Which of the following is true about the marriage in the United States today?
A. Divorce leads to the breakup of the family.
B. More and more people are getting divorced.
C. More than half of the married couples get divorced.
D. American people marry more than four times.
37. What does "this is no longer the case" in paragraph 2 mean?
A. Women are not economically dependent any more.
B. It is not necessary to get married any more.
C. Women do not need a husband any longer.
D. Many wives do well-paying jobs outside home now.
38. Why is the outlook of marriage not as hopeless as it appears?
A. The rate of divorce has actually decreased.
B. Over 60% of the marriages continue to exist.
C. The statistics of divorce is reliable.
D. Many people still like to get married.
39. How do most men feel in their marriage life?
A. They feel much stronger than before.
B. They feel more satisfied than being single.
C. They don't feel as lonely as before.
D. They suffer more than before.
40. Which of the following about marriage is NOT mentioned in the passage?
A. It is important to discover what makes a marriage successful.
B. Many people went abroad after divorce.
C. Marriage has long been partly an economic need.
D. It is a fact that most people choose to get married.
