商务英语阅读竞赛试题

第六届商务英语专业技能大赛 11级英语阅读竞赛 Reading Comprehension Directions: There are 6 reading passages in this part. Each passage is followed by five questions. For each question there are four suggested answers marked A, B, C and D. Choose the best answer and blacken the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet. Passage One This is not the world we know. This world is controlled by computers. Men and women can be seen, but they are following orders given to them by machines. The machines were designed by mad scientists, but at some point even the mad scientists were taken over by their super-inventions. Does this sound familiar? You have probably read something like it in magazines or books, or seen it in a film. Why is it so popular? One of the reasons is that it reflects the fears of many people; fear of the unknown, fear of what is not understood or, at least, fear of something that is not completely understood. The fact is that every day it seems that computers take control of another area of our lives. Some factory jobs are now done by robots and the robots are controlled by computers. Our bank accounts are managed by computers. At the airport, our tickets are sold by a computer. Certainly, many of these operations are made more efficient by computers, but our admiration is sometimes mixed with unsafe feelings. And this lack of safety is caused by the fact that we do not know how computers do these things, and we really don’t know what they might do next. But we can find out how computers work, and once we understand them, we can use computers instead of worrying about being used by them. Today, there is a new generation of computer wizards (奇才) who know exactly how computers get things done. These young men and women, usually university students, are happy to sit for hours, sometimes for days, designing programs, not eating, not sleeping, but discovering what can be done by these wonderful slaves which they have learned to control. These computer wizards have learned to use the computer and search for new tasks for their machines. 1. We can know that the scientists who designed the machines _____________. A. are careless in their daily life B. are unkind and cruel C. are out of their mind D. have great abilities 2. The reason why many people are afraid of computers is that ____________. A. they don't know anything about computers B. they haven't really understood computers C. there are so many computer games D. computers are often down 3. The author mentions computer wizards in order to point out that ____________. A. computers can be controlled by man B. there should be more people devoted to computers C. only young people are interested in computers D. more time and energy is required to control computers 4. This passage is probably written to suggest that ____________. A. some day computers can deal with all human problems B. computers can be used in place of traveling to our jobs C. people should not fear computers D. computer technology will not meet people’s needs in various situations 5. The author's attitude (态度) towards widely used computers is_________. A. positive B. anxious C. worried D. curious Passage Two Knowledge is power. But there is another thing we must remember. An intelligent mind needs a strong body to make it most useful. There are a great many good exercises for building up our bodies. Many of them may be done indoors in rainy weather. Indoor exercises, however, are never as helpful as those taken out of doors because in the open air there is more oxygen. The air in the house is not fresh. But out of doors it is very fresh, especially in the morning. But what shall we play? There are a number of games such as football, basketball, races and so on. Any game with plenty of exercises is good. Do not neglect your health. It is of as much importance as your mind. Our country now needs people with creative minds, good judgment, and healthy bodies. 6. One who has an intelligent mind is ______ . A. very strong B. very healthy C. very clever D. very stupid 7. “An intelligent mind needs a strong body to make it useful.” means ______ . A. if you want to make your strong body useful, you must have an intelligent mind B. in order to make your intelligent mind useful, you must have a strong body C. to make your strong mind and strong body most useful you need a strong body D. if you have a strong body you will have a strong mind 8. Which of the following statements is true? A. Indoor exercises are as helpful as outdoor ones. B. Indoor exercises are no more helpful than outdoor exercises. C. Neither indoor exercises nor outdoor exercises are helpful. D. Outdoor exercises are more helpful than indoor ones. 9. The air in the house does not remain fresh very long. It’s because ______. A. the fresh air can’t come into the house B. there is only a little fresh air coming in and a little waste going out C. the air in the house can’t move at all D. the house gives off wastes 10. Our country now ______ with creative minds, good judgment and healthy bodies. A. needs men and women B. only needs men C. only needs scientists D. does not need women but men Passage Three Survival is an art. Survivors are artists. The best acting is done in daily life, not on the stage. My late uncle Sir Alexander Korda, the motion-picture producer who could “charm money out of an empty safe”, was a gifted survivor. Once, a group of investors called him in to complain that he had lost 5 000 000 of their money. Most men would have tried to defend themselves. Alex did not. “You are right,” he said quietly, “I have been wasteful, and careless. I have chosen the wrong scripts, paid too little attention to the budgets. I am too old for this business. I will retire. I only hope you will forgive me.” Within an hour, the investors were busy encouraging Alex, cheering him up. It was out of the question for him to resign; they wouldn’t hear it. And by lunchtime, Alex had 2 000 000 more of their money and was back in the action again. When I asked him if he was happy about it, he said, “No. They would have put up three or four million, I think. Still, it’s a good lesson for you to learn. Always settle for less than you could get. It doesn’t hurt to have a reputation as a gentleman.” 11. According to the author, Sir Alexander Korda is an excellent artist because ______. A. he is a motion-picture producer B. he knows well about how to survive C. he had a gift to act in the movie D. he can get large amounts of money from investors 12. The phrase to “charm money out of an empty safe” in the context means . A. to put all your money to your savings account B. to draw your money back if it is not in a safe place C. to avoid wasting money if you have an empty pocket D. to be able to get money even if it looks impossible 13. What would most probably have happened if Sir Alexander Korda had defended himself？ A. He would resign and live miserably. B. He would be considered a gentleman. C. The investors would not forgive him. D. The investors would give him more money. 14. Alex did not defend himself because . A. he hoped to have a happier life B. his nature prevented him from doing so C. he wanted to test if he could give the best acting D. he knew the way to cope with the investors 15. Alex was not happy with the settlement because . A. he thought he could have got more from the investor B. he didn’t teach the author a good lesson C. he didn’t like the way he behaved D. he lost his reputation as a gentleman Passage Four Time is the biggest problem of most students. It becomes particularly difficult when you have to do library research for a term paper or report. Finding information in the library can take so much time that many students avoid it until the last possible minute. Library research does not have to be time consuming. If you learn to use a library efficiently, you can save yourself a great deal of time. The exercises in this section are designed to familiarize you with the library so that you can find the information you need quickly. The first and the most important thing to know about a library is that when you cannot find something, ask a librarian for help. The librarians are paid not just to shelve books, but to provide information and assistance. The most helpful librarians are usually those who work in the reference room. They will help you get started on a term paper and even help you find material. There are two basic places to begin looking for information, the card catalog and the various periodical indexes. The card catalog is a list of all the books in the library. A periodical index is a list of all the magazine and journal articles written on any subject. 16. According to the author, finding information in the library needs a lot of time, so students should ______. A. avoid it until the last possible minute B. do library research C. learn how to use it efficiently D. save a great deal of time 17. It is the librarians’ duty to do all the following things except______. A. arranging and lending books B. helping students locate the needed books C. helping students find needed materials D. helping students write their term paper 18. In what way could a student get familiarized with the library while reading this section? A. By doing the exercises provided. B. By asking the librarians. C. By looking into the catalog part. D. By reading in the reference room. 19. If you need to find a magazine article in the library, the best way for you to do is to ______. A. look in the card catalog B. look in the periodical indexes C. search through the bookshelves D. go to the reference room 20. The passage is taken from an introduction of a chapter, and the title of the chapter is probably ______. A. Save Your Study Time B. Using the Library for Yo