The pace of modern industrial life forbids this kind of glorious and magnificent idling. But, worse than that, it imposes upon us a different conception of time as measured by the clock and eventually turns the human being into a clock himself. (This sort of thing is bound to come to China, as is evident, for instance, in the case of a factory of twenty thousand worker. The luxurious prospect of twenty thousand workers coming in at their own sweet pleasure at all hours is, of course, somewhat terrifying.)Nevertheless, such efficiency is what makes life so hard and full of excitement. A man who has to be punctually at a certain place at five o’clock has the whole afternoon from one to five ruined for him already. Every American adult is arranging his time on the pattern of the schoolboy - three o’clock for this, five o’clock for that, six-thirty for change of dress, six-fifty for entering the taxi, and seven o’clock for arriving at the destination. It just makes life not worth living.

　　1. The writer objects to efficiency mainly on the grounds that it ____.

　　A) entitles us to too much leisure time

　　B) urges us to get things done punctually

　　C) deprives us of leisure tim

　　D) imposes on us a perfect concept of time

　　2. In the eyes of the author, the introduction of industrial life gives rise to ____.

　　A) the excitement of life

　　B) magnificent idling of time

　　C) more emphasis on efficiency

　　D) terrifying schoolboy

　　3. The passage tells us ____.

　　A) Chinese workers come to work when it is convenient

　　B) all Americans are forced to be efficient against their will

　　C) Chinese engineers are on better terms with the management

　　D) Americans ought not to work so hard for efficiency

　　4. The author believes that relaxing the rule of punctuality in factories would lead to ____.

　　A) great confusion

　　B) increased production

　　C) a hard and exciting life

　　D) successful completion of a tunnel

　　5. What is implied but NOT stated by the author is that ____.

　　A) every American is arranging his time in the pattern of a schoolboy

　　B) every American is reluctant to be efficient

　　C) every one should have some time to spend as he pleases

　　D) being punctual is an undesirable habit which should not be formed

　　1.C)deprives us of leisure time對應原文第一句but that it is a thief of time when it leaves us no leisure to enjoy ourselves. 選項A是與作者想法完全相反的; 選項B雖有章可循, 但要注意原文是it strains our nerves when we try to get things done perfectly, 而非it直接urges us to get things done punctually; 選項D要看清, 原文是a different conception of time而非a perfect concept of time.

　　2.C)more emphasis on efficiency對應原文第二段第一句The pace of modern industrial life forbids this kind of glorious and magnificent idling. 通過第一段可以看出, 與efficiency對立的是this kind of glorious and magnificent idling, 而industrial life又forbids, 自然說明industrial life gives rise to more emphasis on efficiency.

　　3.D)Americans ought not to work so hard for efficiency. 排除法: A)Chinese workers come to work when it is convenient不符合原文()中的內容; B)all Americans are forced to be efficient against their will語氣太重, 不是被強迫講求效率, 也不是違背自己意愿, 只是為了適應工業社會; C)Chinese engineers are on better terms with the management不屬于本文討論范疇。。。

　　4.A)great confusion對應原文(This sort of thing is bound to come to China, as is evident, for instance, in the case of a factory of twenty thousand worker. The luxurious prospect of twenty thousand workers coming in at their own sweet pleasure at all hours is, of course, somewhat terrifying.)

　　5.C)every on should have some time to spend as he pleases, 這是4個選項中唯一一個符合is implied but NOT stated兩個條件的. A選項有被直接提及, B選項reluctant是不愿的意思, 而本文并非討論愿不愿的問題, D選項being punctual is an undesirable habit which should not be formed, 黑體部分分別為守時和不良習慣的意思, 顯然不是作者本意.

　　總結一下, 今天這期比昨天講小貓小狗的閱讀要難一些- -, 是一篇既要求詞匯量, 同時又要求答題技巧的典型的閱讀理解. 所謂答題技巧, 就是首先要讀懂文章的大概意思, 然后注意一些關鍵句子.

　　關鍵句子很有可能出現在段落的連接部分, 比如開頭和結尾. 一般情況下, 閱讀理解的前面幾道題是可以從原文的關鍵句子中直接找出答案的, 而后面幾道題, 往往要求綜合全文來分析. 最近幾天的閱讀, 大體分為兩種: 一種是偏向主觀論述的閱讀, 比如倒數55天的癌癥、倒數53天的空調和今天的效率; 另一種是偏向客觀敘述的閱讀, 比如倒數52天的家養寵物和倒數54天的無家可歸的兒童. 前者往往要著重考慮作者的中心思想, 后者往往要著重考慮作者的整體內容.

　　英語四級閱讀練習題二：

　　Of the thousands of different kinds of animals that exist in the world man has learned to make friends with an enormous number. Some are pets, and offer him companionship; some give protection, and some do hard work which man cannot do for himself. Dogs, which serve man in all three capacities, are found in various breeds in all countries of the world. The Husky can live in the cold polar regions, and the Saluki is at home in the hottest parts of Central Africa. The inhabitants of certain countries are dependent for their very lives on the camel. In the West Indies the little donkey, strong and sure-footed, carrying heavy loads even in mountainous places, is a familiar sight.

　　Trained and tamed for many generations, domestic animals are not accustomed to roaming(到處走動) in search of food and shelter. They look to their masters to provide for their needs, and as long as these are supplied, they are content to do what their masters require.

　　All domestic animals need proper food. It must be suitable for them, sufficient in quantity, fresh and clean. Some people feed a pet dog or cat on odds and ends of table scraps, and then wonder why the animal seems listless(倦怠的) and dull. The quantity of food depends on the size of the animal and the amount of exercise it takes. Overfeeding is as bad as underfeeding. Containers for food and water must be washed regularly if the animal is to maintain good health.

　　Even well cared for animals may sometimes fall ill. If this happens, the wise master seeks the best advice he can get. All sorts of medicines and treatments are available for sick animals, and in some countries organizations exist to provide them free or at a cheap price. Useful, friendly, hardworking animals deserve to have some time, money and attention spent on their health.

　　1. What main idea does the author want to convey in the first paragraph?

　　A) There exists thousands of species of animals in the world.

　　B) Man came to establish a close relationship with a number of animals.

　　C) In some regions a donkey seems to be a very useful beast.

　　D) An animal will be useless unless domesticated.

　　2. When an animal is underfed, it will probably ____.

　　A) refuse to obey its master

　　B) immediately fall ill

　　C) require its master to offer some food

　　D) seek for food on its own

　　3. Which of the following is NOT true of dogs according to the passage?

　　A) They can act as friends, guards, and servants to man.

　　B) They have great adaptation for the environment.

　　C) There live a great variety of breeds of dogs on the globe.

　　D) The Husky and the Saluki are the strongest breed ever known in the world.

　　4. To keep a domestic animal physically fit, its owner is advised ____.

　　A) not to hesitate to spend enormous amount of money on it

　　B) to pay attention to its proper feeding

　　C) not to allow it to take excessive amounts of exercise

　　D) to join some sort of pet-keeping organizations

　　5. Which of the following would be best TITLE for this passage?

　　A) Domesticated Animals - Man’s Best Friend

　　B) Proper Diet - the Road to Health

　　C) The Advantages of Raising Domestic Animals

　　D) Some Tips on Pet-keeping

　　答案：

　　1.B)Man came to establish a close relationship with a number of animals. 黑體部分為第一段兩個要點，A只包含了一個要點，C只提到了一頭驢。。。D則完全與第一段無關。這道選錯了要面壁哦。

　　2.A)refuse to obey its master對應原文Some people feed a pet dog or cat on odds and ends of table scraps(即題干中的When an animal is underfed, 所以要在這句話中找答案～), and then wonder why the animal seems listless(倦怠的) and dull. 由于答案比較隱晦, 先保留A, B(直接得病)、C(要求食物)和D(自己覓食)均未從此句中得到絲毫體現, 所以A為最接近答案. 因為我家養過狗, 所以比較清楚, refuse to obey its master的一個表現就是listless and dull, 簡單的說, 就是你逗它它沒反應。。。

　　3.D)The Husky and the Saluki are the strongest breed ever known in the world完全無法對應原文。。。A)They can act as friends, guards, and servants to man對應原文Dogs, which serve man in all three capacities; B)They have great adaptation for the environment對應原文Husky存在于兩極和Saluki存在于非洲的敘述, 兩極和非洲都能適應, 說明它們有很強的適應環境的能力; C)There live a great variety of breeds of dogs on the globe對應原文的are found in various breeds in all countries of the world.

　　4.B)to pay attention to its proper feeding對應原文All domestic animals need proper food. 整個第3段都是圍繞著how to keep a domestic animal physically fit展開的.

　　5.A)Domesticated Animals - Man’s Best Friend為最合適答案, 本文正是充滿感情地圍繞著這個話題展開. 雖然文章對馴養家養動物提出了很多寶貴建議, 但B選項沒說是給人Proper Diet還是給狗Proper Diet; C選項是飼養家養動物的好處, 也不對; D選項是喂養寵物的建議, 但只有第三、四段包含了建議的內容, 不全面. 關于這一點, 如果不能理解, 請參考上一期關于空調(air conditioning)的閱讀的最后一題的答案詳解, 這種類型的閱讀理解的最后一道題往往要綜合全文篇幅來看, 看作者總體說了什么, 而非作者著重說了什么. 呵呵, 大概是這樣吧.

　　在成千上萬種現存于世的動物中，人類已學會與許多物種交朋友。這些動物中有的成為人的寵物，與他作伴;有的起保護作用;有的做一些人們自己做不了伙伴關系的重活。北美洲愛斯基摩的厚毛狗考試大可以生活在寒冷的極地地帶，薩盧基狗生活在中非最炎熱的地區。某些國家居民的生計依靠駱駝。在西印度群島，腳步穩健的小驢，在山上馱載重物的景象也屢見不鮮。

　　經過許多代的馴養之后，家畜已不習慣在野外四處尋覓食物和尋找棲身之處。它們要靠主人提供生存必需品，只要需求得以滿足，它們樂意為主人效力。

　　所有的家畜都需要合適的食物。食物必須適合它們的需要，此外還要數量充足，新鮮干凈。有些人用飯桌上剩下的殘羹冷炙喂養小貓小狗，之后搞不懂為什么這些動物變得好像有點無精打采、缺乏靈氣。喂食的多少取決于動物的大小和它的運動量。喂得過多和喂得過少一樣有害。要想動物健壯，食物和飲水的容器必須經常清理干凈。

　　即使是精心照料的動物有時也會生病。如果發生這種情況，精明的主人會竭力尋求最佳建議。為生病的動物提供的各種藥物和治療到處都可以得到，有些國家還成立了組織為生病動物提供廉價或無償的藥物和治療。對有用的、友善的和拼命干活的動物，主人理應為其健康投入一些時間、金錢并給予關心照顧