阅读理解技巧训练

2.1细节题

In the 1920s demand for American farm products fell, as European countries began to recover from World War I and instituted austerity (紧缩) programs to reduce their imports. The result was a sharp drop in farm prices. This period was more disastrous for farmers than earlier times had been, because farmers were no longer self-sufficient. They were paying for machinery, seed, and fertilizer, and they were also buying consumer goods. The prices of the items farmers bought remained constant, while prices they received for their products fell. These developments were made worse by the Great Depression, which began in 1929 and extended throughout the 1930s.

In 1929, under President Herbert Hoover, the Federal Farm Board was organized. It established the principle of direct interference with supply and demand, and it represented the first national commitment to provide greater economic stability for farmers.

President Hoover’s successor attached even more importance to this problem. One of the first measures proposed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt when he took office in 1933 was the Agricultural Adjustment Act, which was subsequently passed by Congress. This law gave the Secretary of Agriculture the power to reduce production through voluntary agreements with farmers who were paid to take their land out of use. A deliberate scarcity of farm products was planned in an effort to raise prices. This law was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court on the grounds that general taxes were being collected to pay one special group of people. However, new laws were passed immediately that achieved the same result of resting soil and providing flood-control measures, but which were based on the principle of soil conservation. The Roosevelt Administration believed that rebuilding the nation’s soil was in the national interest and was not simply a plan to help farmers at the expense of other citizens. Later the government guaranteed loans to farmers so that they could buy farm machinery, hybrid (杂交) grain, and fertilizers.

21. What brought about the decline in the demand for American farm products?

A) The impact of the Great Depression.

B) The shrinking of overseas markets.

C) The destruction caused by the First World War.

D) The increased exports of European countries.

23. The Agricultural Adjustment Act encouraged American farmers to .

A) reduce their scale of production

B) make full use of their land

C) adjust the prices of their farm products

D) be self-sufficient in agricultural production

24. The Supreme Court rejected the Agricultural Adjustment Act because it believed that the Act .

A) might cause greater scarcity of farm products

B) didn’t give the Secretary of Agriculture enough power

C) would benefit neither the government nor the farmers

D) benefited one group of citizens at the expense of others

25. It was claimed that the new laws passed during the Roosevelt Administration were aimed at .

A) reducing the cost of farming

B) conserving soil in the long-term interest of the nation

C) lowering the burden of farmers

D) helping farmers without shifting the burden onto other taxpayers

2.2 词汇、单句理解题

2.2.1词汇题

The word...in the first paragraph most probably means _____.

What is the meaning of ...?

By ...the author refers to...

(1)

We must recognize that environmental health issues do not stop at city limits, county lines, state or even federal boundaries. We can no longer afford to be tunnel-visioned in our approach. We must visualize issues from every perspective to make the objective decisions. We must express our views clearly to prevent media distortion and public confusion. (1999. 6)

18. The word "tunnel-visioned" (Line 2, Para. 4) most probably means“ ”.

A)narrow-minded C) short-sighted

B)blind to the facts D) able to see only one aspect

(2)

We all have offensive breath at one time or another. In most cases, offensive breath emanates from bacteria in the mouth, although there are other more causes. (1998. 1)

31. The phrase “emanate from” in Paragraph 1 most probably means “ ”.

A) thrive on B)account for C)originate from D)descend from

(3)其它逻辑推导方式

例1

It is no secret among athletes that in order to improve performance you’ve got to work hard. However, hard training breaks you down and makes you weaker. It is rest that makes you stronger. Improvement only occurs during the rest period following hard training. This adaptation is accomplished by improving efficiency of the heart and certain systems within the muscle cells. During recovery periods these systems build to greater levels to compensate for the stress that you have applied. The result is that you are now at a higher level of performance.

If sufficient rest is not included in a training program, imbalance between excess training and　inadequate rest will occur, and performance will decline. The“overtraining syndrome(综合症)”is the name given to the collection of emotional, behavioral, and physical symptoms due to overtraining that has persisted for weeks to months. It is marked by cumulative exhaustion that persists even after recovery periods.

2. By“overtraining”the author means ________.

A)a series of physical symptoms that occur after training

B)undue emphasis on the importance of physical exertion

C)training that is not adequately compensated for by rest

D)training that has exceeded an athlete’s emotional limits

2.2.2 单句理解题

The sentence...means that ______.

What does the sentence...imply?

Which of the following is closest in meaning to the sentence...?

例1.

Reebok executives do not like to hear their stylish athletic shoes called " footwear for yuppies (雅皮士，少壮高薪职业人士)”. They contend that Reebok shoes appeal to diverse market segments, especially now that the company offers basketball and children’s shoes for the under-18 set and walking shoes for older customers not interested in aerobics (健身操)or running. The executives also point out that through recent acquisitions they have added hiking boots, dress and casual shoes, and high-performance athletic footwear to their product lines, all of which should attract new and varied groups of customers.

Still, despite its emphasis on new markets, Reebok plans few changes in the upmarket (高档消费人群的)retailing network that helped push sales to $ 1 billion annually, ahead of all other sports shoe marketers. Reebok shoes, which are priced from $ 27 to $85, will continue to be sold only in better specialty, sporting goods, and department stores, in accordance with the company’s view that consumers judge the quality of the brand by the quality of its distribution.

In the past few years, the Massachusetts-based company has imposed limits on the number of its distributors (and the number of shoes supplied to stores), partly out of necessity. At times the unexpected demand for Reebok’s exceeded supply, and the company could barely keep up with orders from the dealers it already had. These fulfillment problems seem to be under control now, but the company is still selective about its distributors. At present, Reebok shoes are available in about five thousand retail stores in the United States.

Reebok has already anticipated that walking shoes will be the next fitness-related craze, replacing aerobics shoes the same way its brightly colored, soft leather exercise footwear replaced conventional running shoes. Through product diversification and careful market research, Reebok hopes to avoid the distribution problems Nike came across several years ago, when Nike misjudged the strength of the aerobics shoe craze and was forced to unload huge inventories of running shoes through discount stores. (2000年6月)

37. Reebok’s view that "consumers judge the quality of the brand by the quality of its distribution" (Line 5, Para. 2) implies that .

A)the quality of a brand is measured by the service quality of the store selling it

B)the quality of a product determines the quality of its distributors

C)the popularity of a brand is determined by the stores that sell it

D)consumers believe that first-rate products are only sold by high-quality stores

例2.

The violence with a society is controlled through institutions of law. The more developed a legal system becomes, the more society takes responsibility for the discovery, control, and punishment of violent acts. In most tribal societies the only means to deal with an act of violence is revenge. Each family group may have the responsibility for personally carrying out judgment and punishment upon the person who committed the offense. But in legal systems, the responsibility for revenge becomes depersonalized and diffused. The society assumes the responsibility for protecting individuals from violence. In cases where they cannot be protected, the society is responsible for imposing punishment. In a state controlled legal system, individuals are removed from the cycle of revenge motivated by acts of violence, and the state assumes responsibility for their protection.

33.What does the author mean by saying "... in legal systems, the responsibility for revenge becomes depersonalized and diffused"(Lines 5-6,Para.2)?

A) Legal systems greatly reduce the possibilities of physical violence.

B) Offenses against individuals are no longer judged on a personal basis.

C) Victims of violence find it more difficult to take revenge.

D) Punishment is not carried out directly by the individuals involved.