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 The Changing Middle Class
The United States perceives itself to be a middle-class nation. However, middle class is not a real designation, nor does it carry privileges. 1 It is more of a perception, which probably was as true as it ever could be right after World War II. The economy was growing, more and more people owned their own homes, workers had solid contracts with the companies that employed them, and nearly everyone who wanted a higher education could have one. Successful people enjoyed upward social mobility. They may have started out poor, but they could become rich. Successful people also found that they had greater geographic mobility. In other words, they found themselves moving to and living in a variety of places.
The middle class collectively holds several values and principles. One strong value is the need to earn enough money to feel that one can determine one's own economic fate. In addition, middle-class morality embraces principles of individual responsibility, importance of family, obligations to others, and believing in something outside oneself. 2
But in the 1990s those in the middle class found that there was a price for success. A U. S. News & World Report survey in 1994 indicated that 75 percent of Americans believed that middle-class families could no longer make ends meet 3. Both spouses now worked, as did some of the children; long commutes became routine; the need for child care put strains on4 the family; and public schools were not as good as they once were. Members of the middle class were no longer financing their lifestyles through earnings but were using credit to stay afloat. The understanding of just what middle class meant was changing.
31. The information in this passage deals with________.
A) an individual
B) a social and economic group
C) a political organization
D) government
32. A common middle class value is that________.
A) people should always have fun
B) children should be seen and not heard
C) debt is nothing to worry about
D) the family is very important
33. In the years after World War II, the middle class could be defined as________.
A) overburdened and in debt
B) hard working and suspicious
C) prosperous and optimistic
D) young and foolish
34. The phrase “In other words” in the first paragraph means that the following statement is________.
A) an exception to the previous idea
B) a denial of the previous idea
C) a restatement of the previous idea
D) a contrasting idea
35. The word collectively means________.
A) as a group
B) hesitatingly
C) unknowingly
D) weakly
第二篇 A Letter from Alan
I have learnt of a plan to build three hundred houses on the land called Parson's Place by the football ground. Few people know about this new plan to increase the size of our town. For me, Parson's Place is special because it is a beautiful natural area where local people can relax — the small wood has many unusual trees and the stream is popular with fishermen and bird-watchers. It's very quiet because there are few houses or roads nearby. I think that losing this area will be terrible because we have no other similar facilities in the neighbourhood.
I am also against this plan because it will cause traffic problems. How will the people from the new houses travel to work? The motorway and the railway station are on the other side of town. Therefore, these people will have to drive through the town centre every time they go anywhere. The roads will always be full of traffic, there will be nowhere to park and the tourists who come to see our lovely old buildings will leave. Shops and hotels will lose business. If the town really needs more homes, the empty ground beside the railway station is a more suitable place.
No doubt the builders will make a lot of money by selling these houses. But, in my opinion, the average person will quickly be made poorer by this plan. As well as this, we will lose a very special place and our town will be much less pleasant.
I am going to the local government offices on Monday morning to protest about this plan and I hope that your readers will join me there. We must make them stop this plan before it is too late.
36. Why has Alan written this letter?
A) To persuade the government to build new houses.
B) To protest about a new motorway near the town.
C) To encourage more people in the town to use Parson's Place.
D) To inform other people about the builders' plans.
37. Why is Parson's Place particularly important, in Alan's opinion?
A) Because it is near the football ground.
B) Because lots of people live near it.
C) Because it is a place near the town where people can enjoy nature.
D) Because local people can get there easily by car from the town.
38. What will cause traffic jams?
A) A building on Parson's Place.
B) Building near the railway station.
C) Tourists in the narrow streets.
D) People going to the shops and hotels.
39. Alan says that ordinary people who live in the town will probably soon________.
A) open new shops and hotels
B) choose to live near the station
C) be able to buy new homes
D) have less money
40. Which of these posters has Alan made?
A) Save our sports ground
B) Say no to house on parson’s place
C) We need homes not hotels
D) Use the train not the road
第三篇 The Development of Ballet
Ballet is a dance form that has a long history. The fact that it survives to this day shows that it has adjusted as times have changed.
Ballet began in the royal courts during the Renaissance. At that time it became common for kings and queens, as well as other nobility, to participate in pageants that included music, poetry, and dance. As these entertainments moved from the Italian courts to the French ones, court ladies began participating in them. Though their long dresses prevented much movement, they were able to perform elaborate walking patterns. It was not until the 1600s that women dancers shortened their skirts, changed to flat shoes, and began doing some of the leaps and turns performed by men.
It was also in the 1600s that professional ballet began. King Louis XIV of France, himself a devoted dancer, founded the Royal Academy of Dance. The five basic feet positions from which all ballet steps begin were finalized. In the late 1700s another important change occurred. Ballet began to tell a story on its own. It was no longer simply dance to be performed between acts of plays. Elaborate wigs and costumes were eliminated. By the early 1800s dancers learned to rise on their toes to make it appear that they were floating.
Classical ballet as we know it today was influenced primarily by Russian dancing. The Russians remained interested in ballet when it declined in other European countries in the mid - 1800s. One of the most influential figures of the early 20th century was Sergei Diaghilev. His dance company, the Ballets Russes, brought a new energy and excitement to ballet. One of his chief assistants, George Balanchine, went on to found the New York City Ballet in 1948 and to influence new generations of dancers.
41. This passage deals mainly with
A) famous names in ballet
B) French versus Russian ballet
C) the way ballet developed
D) why ballet is no longer popular
42. An important influence in early ballet was
A) Balanchine
B) Marie Antoinette
C) Diaghilev
D) Louis XIV
43. You can conclude from this passage that ballet
A) is a dying art
B) will continue to change as new people and ideas influence it
C) is only currently performed in Russia and the United States
D) is often performed by dancers with little training
44. The information in this passage is presented
A) through the story of one dancer
B) by describing various positions and steps
C) by listing reasons why ballet has succeeded
D) in chronological order
45. The word pageants means
A) dances
B ) instructors
C) kings
D) elaborate shows
