六級閱讀理解

1、In the last two hundred years there have been great changes in the method of production of goods. This is now also true of the building industry; for mechanization has been introduced. System building can save both time and money. The principle of system building is that the building is made from a

2、set of standard units. These are either made at the building-site or at a factory. Some designers, in fact, are standardizing the dimensions of rooms. They are made in multiples of a single fixed length, usually ten centimeters. This is called a modular (標準件的) system, and it means that manufactures

3、can produce standardized fittings at a lower cost. The most important fact about system building is its speed. A ten-storey flat, for example, can be completed in four months.There are several new methods of system building. One is the panel method. In this case, the construction company sometimes e

4、rects a factory on the site. The walls and floors of the building, called panels, are cast in a horizontal or vertical position. Conduits for electrical wires and sleeves for pipes are cast in the panels when they are being made. The moulds for making these castings are situated all around the build

5、ing.After the concrete panels are cast, they are allowed to set and harden for a week. Next they are lifted by a tower crane on to any section of the building. There the panels are cemented together at their joints and the floor covering is laid.After the panels have been cemented together, the cran

6、e lifts a case into the area. It contains all the fittings to be installed, such as wash-basins, radiators and pipes. Finishing tradesmen, such as plumbers, plasterers, painters and electricians, follow behind to complete the work.In some building developments, in some countries, whole flats with in

7、ternal features like their bathrooms, bedrooms and connecting stairs, and weighing as much as twenty tons, are carried to the building-site ready-made. A giant overhead crane is used to lift them into position. In the future, this method may become more widespread.1. Which of these statements is TRU

8、E of system building?A. It employs more men.B. It is difficult and dangerous.C. It can save both time and money.D. It means less mechanization.2. The main difference between panel method and the method discussed in the last paragraph is_.A. the latter uses ready-made internal featuresB. panels are c

9、ast in a level positionC. the former is used to build walls and floors while the latter to construct bathrooms or bedroomsD. the former is more expensive than the latter3. According to the passage, the principle of system building is that_.A. construction methods are saferB. buildings are made from

10、a set of standardized unitsC. similar buildings can be producedD. all units are produced on the site4. What lifts the concrete panels onto the building?A. Cranes.B. Man-power.C. Pulleys.D. Hydraulic jacks.5. The usual fixed length in the modular system is_.A. twenty centimetersB. ten millimetersC. f

11、ifty centimetersD. ten centimeters參考答案： 1. C 2.A 3. B 4. A 5. DWe sometimes think humans are uniquely vulnerable to anxiety, but stress seems to affect the immune defenses of lower animals too. In one experiment, for example, behavioral immunologist (免疫學家) Mark Laudenslager, at the University of Den

12、ver, gave mild electric shocks to 24 rats. Half the animals could switch off the current by turning a wheel in their enclosure, while the other half could mot. The rats in the two groups were paired so that each time one rat turned the wheel it protected both itself and its helpless partner from the

13、 shock. Laudenslager found that the immune response was depressed below normal in the helpless rats but not in those that could turn off the electricity. What he has demonstrated, he believes, is that lack of control over an event, not the experience itself, is what weakens the immune system.Other r

14、esearchers agree. Jay Weiss, a psychologist at Duke University School of Medicine, has shown that animals who are allowed to control unpleasant stimuli dont develop sleep disturbances or changes in brain chemistry typical of stressed rats. But if the animals are confronted with situations they have

15、no control over, they later behave passively when faced with experiences they can control. Such findings reinforce psychologists suspicions that the experience or perception of helplessness is one of the most harmful factors in depression.One of the most startling examples of how the mind can alter

16、the immune response was discovered by chance. In 1975 psychologist Robert Ader at the University of Rochester School of Medicine conditioned (使形成條件反射) mice to avoid saccharin (糖精) by simultaneously feeding them the sweetener and injecting them with a drug that while suppressing their immune systems

17、caused stomach upsets. Associating the saccharin with the stomach pains, the mice quickly learned to avoid the sweetener. In order to extinguish this dislike for the sweetener, Ader reexposed the animals to saccharin, this time without the drug, and was astonished to find that those mice that had re

18、ceived the highest amounts of sweetener during their earlier conditioning died. He could only speculate that he had so successfully conditioned the rats that saccharin alone now served to weaken their immune systems enough to kill them.1. According to the passage, the experience of helplessness caus

19、es rats to _.A) try to control unpleasant stimuliB) turn off the electricityC) behave passively in controllable situationsD) become abnormally suspicious2. Laudenslagers experiment showed that the immune system of those rats who could turn off the electricity _.A) was strengthenedB) was not affected

20、C) was alteredD) was weakened3. The reason why the mice in Aders experiment avoided saccharin was that _.A) they disliked its tasteB) it affected their immune systemsC) it led to stomach painsD) they associated it with stomachaches4. It can be concluded from the passage that the immune systems of an

21、imals _.A) can be weakened by conditioningB) can be suppressed by drug injectionsC) can be affected by frequent doses of saccharinD) can be altered by electric shocks5. The passage tells us that the most probable reason for the death of the mice in Aders experiment was that _.A) they had been weaken

22、ed psychologically by the saccharinB) the sweetener was poisonous to themC) their immune systems had been altered by the mindD) they had taken too much sweetener during earlier conditioning參考答案：1.C 2.B 3.D 4.A 5.CI live in the land of Disney， Hollywood and year-round sun. You may think people in suc

23、h a glamorous， fun-filled place are happier than others. If so， you have some mistaken ideas about the nature of happiness.Many intelligent people still equate happiness with fun. The truth is that fun and happiness have little or nothing in common. Fun is what we experience during an act. Happiness

24、 is what we experience after an act. It is a deeper， more abiding emotion.Going to an amusement park or ball game， watching a movie or television， are fun activities that help us relax， temporarily forget our problems and maybe even laugh. But they do not bring happiness， because their positive effe

25、cts end when the fun ends.I have often thought that if Hollywood stars have a role to play， it is to teach us that happiness has nothing to do with fun. These rich， beautiful individuals have constant access to glamorous parties， fancy cars， expensive homes， everything that spells “happiness”。 But i

26、n memoir after memoir， celebrities reveal the unhappiness hidden beneath all their fun： depression， alcoholism， drug addiction， broken marriages， troubled children and profound loneliness.Ask a bachelor why he resists marriage even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying. If hes honest

27、， he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment. For commitment is in fact quite painful. The single life is filled with fun， adventure and excitement. Marriage has such moments， but they are not its most distinguishing features.Similarly， couples that choose not to have children are dec

28、iding in favor of painless fun over painful happiness. They can dine out ever they want and sleep as late as they want. Couples with infant children are lucky to get a whole nights sleep or a three-day vacation. I dont know any parent who would choose the word fun to describe raising children.Unders

29、tanding and accepting that true happiness has nothing to do with fun is one of the most liberating realizations we can ever come to. It liberates time： now we can devote more hours to activities that can genuinely increase our happiness. It liberates money： buying that new car or those fancy clothes

30、 that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless. And it liberates us from envy： we now understand that all those rich and glamorous people we were so sure are happy because they are always having so much fun actually may not be happy at all.1.To the author， Hollywood stars all ha

31、ve an important role to play that is to _.A.rite memoir after memoir about their happiness.B.tell the public that happiness has nothing to do with fun.C.teach people how to enjoy their lives.D.bring happiness to the public instead of going to glamorous parties.2.Which of the following is true?A.Fun

32、creates long-lasting satisfaction.B.Fun provides enjoyment while pain leads to happiness.C.Happiness is enduring whereas fun is short-lived.D.Fun that is long-standing may lead to happiness.3.In the authors opinion， marriage_.A.affords greater fun.B.leads to raising children.C.indicates commitment.D

33、.ends in pain.4.If one get the meaning of the true sense of happiness， he will_.A.stop playing games and joking with others.B.make the best use of his time increasing happiness.C.give a free hand to money.D.keep himself with his family.5.Couples having infant children_.A.are lucky since they can hav

34、e a whole nights sleep.B.find fun in tucking them into bed at night.C.find more time to play and joke with them.D.derive happiness from their endeavor.答案：1.B 2.C 3.C 4.B 5.DRecent research has claimed that an excess of positive ions in the air can have an ill effect on peoples physical or psychologi

35、cal health. What are positive ions? Well， the air is full of ions， electrically charged particles， and generally there is a rough balance between the positive and the negative charged. But sometimes this balance becomes disturbed and a larger proportion of positive ions are found. This happens natur

36、ally before thunderstorm， earthquakes when winds such as the Mistral， Hamsin or Sharav are blowing in certain countries. Or it can be caused by a build-up of static electricity indoors from carpets or clothing made of man-made fibres， or from TV sets， duplicators or computer display screens.When a l

37、arge number of positive ions are present in the air many people experience unpleasant effects such as headaches， fatigue， irritability， and some particularly sensitive people suffer nausea or even mental disturbance. Animals are also affected， particularly before earthquakes， snakes have been observ

38、ed to come out of hibernation， rats to flee from their burrows， dogs howl and cats jump about unaccountably. This has led the US Geographical Survey to fund a network of volunteers to watch animals in an effort to foresee such disasters before they hit vulnerable areas such as California.Conversely，

39、 when large numbers of negative ions are present， then people have a feeling of well-being. Natural conditions that produce these large amounts are near the sea， close to waterfalls or fountains， or in any place where water is sprayed， or forms a spray. This probably accounts for the beneficial effe

40、ct of a holiday by the sea， or in the mountains with tumbling streams or waterfalls.To increase the supply of negative ions indoors， some scientists recommend the use of ionisers： small portable machines， which generate negative ions. They claim that ionisers not only clean and refresh the air but a

41、lso improve the health of people sensitive to excess positive ions. Of course， there are the detractors， other scientists， who dismiss such claims and are skeptical about negative/positive ion research. Therefore people can only make up their own minds by observing the effects on themselves， or on o

42、thers， of a negative rich or poor environment. After all it is debatable whether depending on seismic readings to anticipate earthquakes is more effective than watching the cat.1.In accordance with the passage， static electricity can be caused by_.A.using home-made electrical goods.B.wearing clothes

43、 made of natural materials.C.walking on artificial floor coverings.D.copying TV programs on a computer.2.What effect does exceeding positive ionization have on some people?A.They think they are insane.B.They feel rather bad-tempered and short-fussed.C.They become violently sick.D.They are too tired

44、to do anything.3.A high negative ion count is likely to be found_.A.near a pound with a water pump.B.close to a slow-flowing river.C.high in some barren mountains.D.by a rotating water sprinkler.4.Some scientists believe that_.A.watching animals to anticipate earthquakes is more effective than depen

45、ding on seismography.B.the unusual behavior of animals cannot be trusted.C.neither watching nor using seismographs is reliable.D.earthquake5.What kind of machine can generate negative ions indoors?A.Ionisers.B.Air-conditioners.C.Exhaust-fansD.Vacuum pumps.答案：1.C 2.B 3.D 4.A 5.AWhich is safer-staying

46、 at home， traveling to work on public transport， or working in the office? Surprisingly， each of these carries the same risk， which is very low. However， what about flying compared to working in the chemical industry? Unfortunately， the former is 65 times riskier than the latter! In fact， the accide

47、nt rate of workers in the chemical industry is less than that of almost any of human activity， and almost as safe as staying at home.The trouble with the chemical industry is that when things go wrong they often cause death to those living nearby. It is this which makes chemical accidents so newswor

48、thy. Fortunately， they are extremely rare. The most famous ones happened at Texas City (1947)，F(xiàn)lixborough (1974)， Seveso (1976)， Pemex (1984) and Bhopal (1984)。Some of these are always in the minds of the people even though the loss of life was small. No one died at Seveso， and only 28 workers at Fl

49、ixborough. The worst accident of all was Bhopal， where up to 3，000 were killed. The Texas City explosion of fertilizer killed 552. The Pemex fire at a storage plant for natural gas in the suburbs of Mexico City took 542 lives， just a month before the unfortunate event at Bhopal.Some experts have dis

50、cussed these accidents and used each accident to illustrate a particular danger. Thus the Texas City explosion was caused by tons of ammonium nitrate(硝酸銨)，which is safe unless stored in great quantity. The Flixborough fireball was the fault of management， which took risks to keep production going du

51、ring essential repairs. The Seveso accident shows what happens if the local authorities lack knowledge of the danger on their doorstep. When the poisonous gas drifted over the town， local leaders were incapable of taking effective action. The Pemex fire was made worse by an overloaded site in an ove

52、rcrowded suburb. The fire set off a chain reaction os exploding storage tanks. Yet， by a miracle， the two largest tanks did not explode. Had these caught fire， then 3，000 strong rescue team and fire fighters would all have died.1.Chemical accidents are usually important enough to be reported as news

53、 because _.A.they are very rareB.they often cause loss of lifeC.they always occur in big citiesD.they arouse the interest of all the readers2.Which of the following statements is true?A.Working at the office is safer than staying at home.B.Traverlling to work on public transport is safer than workin

54、g at the office.C.Staying at home is safer than working in the chemical industry.D.Working in the chemical industry is safer than traveling by air.3.According to passage， the chemical accident that caused by the fault of management happened at _.A.Texas city B.Flixborough C.Seveso D.Mexico City4.Fro

55、m the discussion among some experts we may coclude that _.A.to avoid any accidents we should not repair the facilities in chemical industryB.the local authorities should not be concerned with the production of the chemical industryC.all these accidents could have been avoided or controlled if effect

56、ive measure had been takenD.natural gas stored in very large tanks is always safe5.From the passage we know that ammonium nitrate is a kind of _.A.natural gas， which can easily catch fireB.fertilizer， which can't be stored in a great quantityC.poisonous substance， which can't be used in over

57、crowded areasD.fuel， which is stored in large tanks答案：1.B 2.D 3.A 4.C 5.BPsychologists take opposing views of how external rewards, from warm praise to cold cash, affect motivation and creativity. Behaviorists, who study the relation between actions and their consequences, argue that rewards can _1_ performance at work and school. Cognitive( 認識派的 ) researchers, who study various aspects of mental life, mai