In many families, parents feel that children should make major life decisions by themselves. A parent may try to influence a child to follow a particular profession but the child is free to choose another career. Sometimes children do precisely the opposite of what their parents wish in order to assert their independence. A son may deliberately decide not to go into his father’s business because of a fear that he will lose his autonomy in his father’s workplace. This independence from parents is not an indication that parents and children do not love each other. Strong love between parents and children is universal and this is no exception in the American family Coexisting with such love in the American family are cultural values of self – reliance and independence.

　　1. The writer discusses the marriage of young adults in order to show which of the following?

　　A) They enjoy the freedom of choosing their spouses.

　　B) They want to win the permission of their parents.

　　C) They have a strong desire to become independent.

　　D) They want to challenge the authority of their parents.

　　2. Most young adults in the U.S. get married for the sake of ____.

　　A) love

　　B) financial concern

　　C) their parents

　　D) family background

　　3. Based on the passage, it can be assumed that ______.

　　A) American young adults are likely to follow the suit of their parents

　　B) most American people never make major decisions for their children

　　C) American young adults possess cultural values of independence

　　D) once a young person steps into his twenties, he will leave his home permanently

　　4. A son is unwilling to work in his father’s business mainly because _____.

　　A) he wishes to make full use of what he has learnt in school

　　B) he wants to prove his independence

　　C) he wishes to do the opposite of what his parents approve of

　　D) he wants to show his love for his parents

　　5. The subject matter of this selection is _____.

　　A) family values

　　B) marriage arrangements

　　C) the pursuit of a career

　　D) decision making

　　答案：

　　CACBA

　　子女一旦到適當年齡(通常是18至21歲)，要鼓勵而不是強迫他們“離開窩的，財政的巢”，開始獨立生活。小孩離開家后，往往在外能夠與人交往，并自謀出路。父母不為子女安排婚姻，子女結婚也通常無需獲得父母同意。在美國，浪漫的愛情往往是婚姻的基礎，青年人通過朋友在學校、單位、組織以及宗教團體認識自己的，愛情的未來的伴侶。盡管子女自己擇偶，他們仍然希望父母能認同他們的選擇。

　　許多家庭的父母認為，應由子女自己來做他們生活中的重大決定。家長可能會設法影響子女去從事某一職業，但子女也有選擇其它職業的自由。有時為了證實自己的獨立性，子女從事的工作正好與父母希望的相反。兒子可能執意不去父親的企業工作，因為擔心在那里就不能獨立自主。這種不依靠父母的獨立性并不意味著父母與子女之間缺乏愛心。父母和子女之間普遍都有摯愛，美國家庭也毫不例外。只不過在美國家庭之中，還融合了自主、獨立的文化價值觀念。

　　英語四級閱讀理解基礎練習二：

　　Baekeland and Hartmann report that the “short sleepers” had been more or less average in their sleep needs until the men were in their teens. But at about age 15 or so, the men voluntarily began cutting down their nightly sleep time because of pressures from school, work, and other activities. These men tended to view their nightly periods of unconsciousness as bothersome interruptions in their daily routines.

　　In general, these “short sleeps” appeared ambitious, active, energetic, cheerful, conformist(不動搖) in their opinions, and very sure about their career choices. They often held several jobs at once, or workers full-or part-time while going to school. And many of them had a strong urge to appear “normal” or “acceptable” to their friends and associates.

　　When asked to recall their dreams, the “short sleepers” did poorly. More than this, they seemed to prefer not remembering. In similar fashion, their usual way of dealing with psychological problems was to deny that the problem existed, and then to keep busy in the hope that the trouble would go away.

　　The sleep patterns of the “short sleepers” were similar to, but less extreme than, sleep patterns shown by many mental patients categorized as manic(瘋人).

　　The “long sleepers” were quite different indeed. Baekeland and Hartmann report that these young men had been lengthy sleeps since childhood. They seemed to enjoy their sleep, protected it, and were quite concerned when they were occasionally deprived of their desired 9 hours of nightly bed rest. They tended to recall their dreams much better than did the “short sleepers.”

　　Many of the “long sleepers” were shy, anxious, introverted (內向), inhibited (壓抑), passive, mildly depressed, and unsure of themselves (particularly in social situations). Several openly states that sleep was an escape from their daily problems.

　　1. According to the report,______.

　　A) many short sleepers need less sleep by nature

　　B) many short sleepers are obliged to reduce their nightly sleep time because they are busy with their work

　　C) long sleepers sleep a longer period of time during the day

　　D) many long sleepers preserve their sleeping habit formed during their childhood

　　2. Many “short sleepers” are likely to hold the view that _____.

　　A) sleep is a withdrawal from the reality

　　B) sleep interferes with their sound judgement

　　C) sleep is the least expensive item on their routine program

　　D) sleep is the best way to deal with psychological troubles

　　3. It is stated in the third paragraph that short sleepers _____.

　　A) are ideally vigorous even under the pressures of life

　　B) often neglect the consequences of inadequate sleep

　　C) do not know how to relax properly

　　D) are more unlikely to run into mental problems

　　4. When sometimes they cannot enjoy adequate sleep, the long sleepers might ____.

　　A) appear disturbed

　　B) become energetic

　　C) feel dissatisfied

　　D) be extremely depressed

　　5. Which of the following is Not included in the passage?

　　A) If one sleeps inadequately, his performance suffers and his memory is weakened

　　B) The sleep patterns of short sleepers are exactly the sane as those shown by many mental patients

　　C) Long and short sleepers differ in their attitudes towards sleep

　　D) Short sleepers would be better off with more rest

　　答案：DCBAB

　　貝克爾和哈特曼報道說，“睡眠少的人”在未進入少年期之前，其正常睡眠時間大致與所需要的時間差不多。但到了15歲左右，由于學校、工作或其它活動的地壓力，他們就故意地減少了夜間睡眠的時間。這些人持有這樣的觀點：夜間睡眠是一件令人討厭的事情，打斷了日常事務。

　　總的說來，這些“睡眠少的人”表現得雄心勃勃、積極活躍、精力充沛、無意識樂觀豁達、立場堅定，對自己職業的選擇胸有成竹。他們往往同時從事幾項工作，或者一邊上學讀書，一邊從事專職或兼職工作。其中許多人有強烈愿望，想在朋友和熟人面前表現得“正常”或“合群”。

　　當讓他們回憶夢境時，“睡眠少的人”回憶不起什么來。更有甚者，他們似乎情愿什么都記不住。類似的情況是他們通常處理心理問題的方式：不承認問題的存在，希望只要忙忙碌碌，麻煩總會過去的。

　　“睡眠少的人”的睡眠模式與被劃入瘋子之類精神病患者的睡眠模式十分相似，只不過沒有那么嚴重而已。

　　“睡眠多的人”情形則大不相同。貝克爾和哈特曼報道說，這些年輕人從小的，有抱負的睡眠就一直很長。他們好像注重睡眠，不讓睡眠受打攪。偶爾沒有所需的9個小時夜間臥床休息，他們便會十分不安。他們比“睡眠少的人”要更能回憶得起夢的內容。許多“睡眠多的人”靦腆、焦躁、內向、壓抑、消極和稍微有點兒沮喪，尤其在社交場合缺乏自信。好幾個人坦言，睡眠是擺脫每天煩惱的一種方式。