英语四级阅读理解练习题 第030组
Since the dawn of human ingenuity, people more cunning tools to cope with work that is dangerous, boring, burdensome, or just plain nasty. That compulsion has resulted in robotics—the science of conferring various human capabilities on machines. And if scientists have yet to create the mechanical version of science fiction, they have begun to come close.
As a result, the modern world is increasingly populated by intelligent gizmos whose presence we barely notice but whose universal existence has removed much human labor. Our factories hum to the rhythm of robot assembly arms. Our banking is done at automated teller terminals that thank us with mechanical politeness for the transaction. Our subway trains are controlled by tireless robo-drivers. And thanks to the continual miniaturization of electronics and micro-mechanics, there are already robot systems that can perform some kinds of brain and bone surgery with submillimeter accuracy—far greater precision than highly skilled physicians can achieve with their hands alone.
But if robots are to reach the next stage of laborsaving utility, they will have to operate with less human supervision and be able to make at least a few decisions for themselves—goals that pose a real challenge. "While we know how to tell a robot to handle a specific error," says Dave Lavery, manager of a robotics program at NASA, "we can't yet give a robot enough 'common sense' to reliably interact with a dynamic world." Indeed the quest for true artificial intelligence has produced very mixed results. Despite a spell of initial optimism in the 1960s and 1970s when it appeared that transistor circuits and microprocessors might be able to copy the action of the human brain by the year 2010, researchers lately have begun to extend that forecast by decades if not centuries.
What they found, in attempting to model thought, is that the human brain's roughly one hundred billion nerve cells are much more talented—and human perception far more complicated—than previously imagined. They have built robots that can recognize the error of a machine panel by a fraction of a millimeter in a controlled factory environment. But can glimpse a rapidly changing scene and immediately disregard the 98 percent that is irrelevant, instantaneously focusing on the monkey at the side of a winding forest road or the single suspicious face in a big crowd. The most advanced computer systems on Earth can't approach that kind of ability, and neuroscientists still don't know quite how we do it.
1. Human ingenuity was initially demonstrated in .
A. the use of machines to produce science fiction
B. the wide use of machines in manufacturing industry
C. the invention of tools for difficult and dangerous work
D. the elite's cunning tackling of dangerous and boring work
2. The word "gizmos" (line 1, paragraph 2) most probably means .
A. programs
B. experts
C. devices
D. creatures
3. According to the text, what is beyond man's ability now is to design a robot that
can .
A. fulfill delicate tasks like performing brain surgery
B. interact with human beings verbally
C. have a little common sense
D. respond independently to a changing world
4. Besides reducing human labor, robots can also .
A. make a few decisions for themselves
B. deal with some errors with human intervention
C. improve factory environments
D. cultivate human creativity
5. The author uses the example of a monkey to argue that robots are .
A. expected to copy human brain in internal structure
B. able to perceive abnormalities immediately
C. far less able than human brain in focusing on relevant information
D. best used in a controlled environment
英语四级阅读理解练习题 第031组
If sustainable competitive advantage depends on workforce skills, American firms have a problem. Human-resource management is not traditionally seen as central to the competitive survival of the firm in the United States. Skill acquisition is considered an individual responsibility. Labour is simply another factor of production to be hired—rented at the lowest possible cost—much as one buys raw materials or equipment.
The lack of importance attached to human-resource management can be seen in the corporate hierarchy. In an American firm the chief financial officer is almost always second in command. The post of head of human-resource management is usually a specialized job, off at the edge of the corporate hierarchy. The executive who holds it is never consulted on major strategic decisions and has no chance to move up to Chief Executive Officer(CEO). By way of contrast, in Japan the head of human-resource management is central—usually the second most important executive, after the CEO, in the firm's hierarchy.
While American firms often talk about the vast amounts spent on training their work force, in fact they invest less in the skills of their employees than do either Japanese or German firms. The money they do invest is also more highly concentrated on professional and managerial employees. And the limited investments that are made in training workers are also much more narrowly focused on the specific skills necessary to do the next job rather than on the basic background skills that make it possible to absorb new technologies.
As a result, problems emerge when new breakthrough technologies arrive. If American workers, for example, take much longer to learn how to operate new flexible manufacturing stations than workers on Germany (as they do), the effective cost of those stations is lower in Germany than it is in the United States. More time is required before equipment is up and running at capacity, and the need for extensive retraining generates costs and creates bottlenecks that limit the speed with which new equipment can be employed. The result is a slower pace of technological change, And in the end the skills of the bottom half of the population affect the wages of the top half. If the bottom half can't effectively staff the
processes that have to be operated, the management and professional jobs that go with these processes will disappear.
1. Which of the following applies to the management of human resources in American
companies?
A. They hire people at the lowest cost regardless of their skills.
B. They see the gaining of skills as their employees' own business.
C. They attach more importance to workers than to equipment.
D. They only hire skilled workers because of keen competition.
2. What is the position of the head of human-resource management in an American firm?
A. He is one of the most important executives in the firm.
B. His post is likely to disappear when new technologies are introduced.
C. He is directly under the chief financial executive.
D. He has no say in making important decisions in the firm.
3. The money most American firms put in training mainly goes to .
A. workers who can operate new equipment
B. technological and managerial staff
C. workers who lack basic background skills
D. top executives
4. According to the passage, the decisive factor in maintaining a firm's competitive
advantage is .
A. the introduction of new technologies
B. the improvement of workers' basic skills
C. the rational composition of professional and managerial employees
D. the attachment of importance to the bottom haft of the employees
5. What is the main idea of the passage ?
A. American firms are different from Japanese and German firms in human-resource
management.
B. Extensive retraining is indispensable to effective human-resource management.
C. The head of human-resource management must be in the central position in a firm' s
hierarchy.
D. The human-resource management strategies of American firms affect their competitive
capacity.
英语四级阅读理解练习题 第032组
One silly question I simply cannot tolerate is "How do you feel?" Usually the question is asked of a man in action—a man walking along the street, or busily working at his desk. So him to say? He'll probably say, "Fine, I 'm all right." But you have put a bug a his ear-maybe now he is not sure. If you are his good friend, you may have seen something on his face, or in his walk, that he overlooked that morning. It makes him worrying a little. He looks in a mirror to see if everything is all right, while you go merrily
on your way asking someone else, "How do you feel?"
Every question has its time and place. It's perfectly acceptable, for instance, to ask "How do you feel?" if you are visiting a close friend in the hospital. But if the fellow is walking on both legs, hurrying to take a train or sitting at his desk working, it's no time to ask him that silly question.
When George Bernard Shaw, the famous British writer of plays was in his eighties, someone asked him, "How do you feel?" Shaw put him in his place. "When you reach my age," he said, "either you feel all right or you are dead."
1. According to the writer, greetings, such as "How do you feel?" .
A. show one's consideration for others
B. are a good way to make friends
C. are proper to ask a man in action
D. generally make one feel uneasy
2. The question "How do you feel?" seems to be correct and suitable when asked
of .
A. a friend who is ill
B. a person who has lost a close friend
C. a stranger who looks somewhat worried
D. a man who is working at his desk
3. George Bernard Shaw's reply ins his .
A. silliness
B. cleverness
C. carelessness
D. politeness
4. "You have put a bug in his ear" means that you have .
A. made him laugh
B. shown concern for him
C. made fun of him
D. given him some kind of warning
5. This passage can be entitled .
A. A Silly Question
B. Don't Trouble a Busy Man
C. What Are Good Greetings
D. George Bernard Shaw's Reply
英语四级阅读理解练习题 第033组
The biographer has to dance between two shaky positions with respect to the subject (研究对象) . Too close a relation, and the writer may lose objectivity. Not close enough, and the writer may lack the sympathy necessary to any effort to portray a mind, a soul—the . Who should write the biography of a family, for example? Because of their closeness to the subject, family members may have special information, but by the same token, they may not have the distance that would allow them to be fair. Similarly, a king's servant might not be the best one to write a biography of that king. But a foreigner might not have the knowledge and sympathy necessary to write the king's biography—not for a readership from within the kingdom, at any rate.
There is no ideal position for such a task. The biographer has to work with the position he or she has in the world, adjusting that position as necessary to deal with the subject. Every position has strengths and weaknesses: to thrive, a writer must try to become aware of these, evaluate them in terms of the subject, and select a position accordingly.
When their subjects are heroes or famous figures, biographies often reveal a democratic motive: they attempt to show that their subjects are only human, no better than anyone else. Other biographies are meant to change us, to invite us to become better than we are. The biographies of Jesus (耶稣) found in the Bible are in this class.
Biographers may claim that their account is the "authentic" one. In advancing this claim, they are helped if the biography is "authorized" by the subject; this presumably allows the biographer special access to private information. "Unauthorized" biographies also have their appeal, however, since they can suggest an independence of mind in the biographer. In book promotions, the "unauthorized" characterisation usually suggests the prospect of juicy gossip that the subject had hoped to suppress. A subject might have several biographies, even several "authentic" ones. We sense intuitively that no one is in a position to tell "the" story of a life, perhaps not even the subject, and this has been history of biography.
1. According to the author, an ideal biographer would be one who .
A. knows the subject very well and yet maintains a proper distance from him
B. is close to the subject and knows the techniques of biography writing
C. is independent and knows the techniques of biography writing
D. possesses special private information and is sympathetic toward the subjeet
2. The author cites the biographies of Jesus in the Bible in order to show that .
A. the best biographies are meant to transform their readers
B. biographies are authentic accounts of their subjects' lives
C. the best biographies are those of heroes and famous figures
D. biographies can serve different purposes
3. Which of the following statements is true, according to the passage?
A. An authentic biography seldom appeals to its readers.
B. An authentic biography is one authorized by the subject.
C. No one can write a perfect biography.
D. Authorized biographies have a wider readership.
4. An unauthorized biography is likely to attract more readers because .
A. it portrays the subject both faithfully and vividly
B. it contains interesting information about the subject s private life
C. it reveals a lot of accurate details unknown to outsiders
D. it usually gives a sympathetic description of the subject's character
5. In this passage, the author focuses on .
A. the difficulty of a biographer in finding the proper perspective to do his job
B. the secret of a biographer to win more readers
C. the techniques required of a biographer to write a good biography
D. the characteristics of different kinds of biographies Questions
英语四级阅读理解练习题 第034组
Whether the eyes are "the windows of the soul" , that they are intensely important in interpersonal communication is a fact. During the first two months of a baby's life, the stimulus that produces a smile is a pair of eyes. The eyes need not be real: a mask with two dots will produce a smile. Significantly, a real human face with eyes covered will not motivate a smile, nor will the sight of only one eye when the face is presented in profile. This attraction to eyes as opposed to the nose or mouth continues as the baby matures: In one study, when American four-year-olds were asked to draw people, 75 percent of them drew people with mouths, but 99 percent of them drew people with eyes. In Japan, however, where babies are carried on their mother's back, infants do not acquire as much attachment to eyes as they do in other cultures. As a result, Japanese adults make little use of the face either to encode or decode meaning. In fact, Argyle reveals that the "proper place to focus one's gaze during a conversation in Japan is on the neck of one's conversation partner."
The role of eye contact in a conversational exchange between two Americans is well defined: speakers make contact with the eyes of their listener for about one second, then glance away as they talk; in a few moments they re-establish eye contact with the listener or reassure themselves that their audience is still attentive, then shift their gaze away once more. Listeners, meanwhile, keep their eyes on the face of the speaker, allowing themselves to glance away only briefly. It is important that they be looking at the speaker at the precise moment when the speaker re-establishes eye contact: if they are not looking, the speaker assumes that they are disinterested and either will pause until eye contact is resumed or wild terminate the conversation. Just how critical this eye maneuvering is to the maintenance of conversational flow becomes evident when two speakers are wearing dark glasses: there may be a sort of traffic jam of words caused by interruption, false starts, and unpredictable pauses.
1. The author is convinced that the eyes are .
A. of extreme importance in expressing feelings ands
B. something through which one can see a person's inner world
C. of considerable significance in making conversations interesting
D. something the value of which is largely a matter of long debate
2. Babies will not be stimulated to smile by a person .
A. whose front view is fully perceived
B. whose face is covered with a mask
C. whose face is seen from the side
D. whose face is free of any covering
3. According to the passage, the Japanese fix their gaze on their conversation partner's
neck because .
A. they don't like to keep their eyes on the face of the speaker
B. they need not communicate through eye contact
C. they don't think it polite to have eye contact
D. they didn't have much opportunity to communicate through eye contact in babyhood
4. According to the passage, a conversation between two Americans may break down due
to .
A. one temporarily glancing away from the other
B. eye contact of more than one second
C. improperly-timed ceasing of eye contact
D. constant adjustment of eye contact
5. To keep a conversation flowing smoothly, it is better for the participants .
A. not to wear dark spectacles
C. not to glance away from each other
B. not to make any interruptions
D. not to make unpredictable pauses
英语四级阅读理解练习题 第035组
A few common misconceptions. Beauty is only skin-deep. One's physical assets and liabilities don't count all that much in a managerial career. A woman should always try to look her best.
Over the last 30 years, social scientists have conducted more than 1,000 studies of how we react to beautiful and not-so-beautiful people. The virtually unanimous conclusion: Looks do matter, more than most of us realize. The data suggest, for example, attractive individuals are more likely to be treated well by their parents, sought out as friends, and pursued romantically. With the possible exception of women seeking managerial jobs, they are also more likely to be hired, paid well, and promoted.
Un-American, you say, unfair and extremely unbelievable? Once again, the scientists have caught us mouthing pieties （虔诚） while acting just the contrary. Their typical experiment works something like this. They give each member of a group-college students, perhaps, or teachers or corporate personnel managers- a piece of paper relating an individual's accomplishments. Attached to the paper is a photograph. While the papers all say exactly the same thing the pictures are different. Some show a strikingly attractive person, some an average-looking character, and some an unusually unattractive human being. Group members are asked to rate the individual on certain attributes, anything from personal warmth to the likelihood that he or she will be promoted.
Almost invariably, the better looking the person in the picture, the higher the person is rated. In the phrase, borrowed from Salppho, that the social scientists use to sum up the common perception, what is beautiful is good.
In business, however, good looks cut both ways for women, and deeper than for men. A Utah State University professor, who is an authority on the subject, explains: In terms of their careers, the impact of physical attractiveness on males is only modest. But its potential impact on females can be tremendous, making its easier, for example, for the more attractive to get jobs where they are in the public eye. On another note, though, there is enough literature now for us to conclude that attractive women who aspire to managerial positions do not get on as may be less attractive.
1. According to the passage, people often wrongly believe that in pursuing a career as manager_____.
A. a person's property or debts do not matter much
B. a person's outward appearance is not a critical qualification
C. women should always dress fashionably
D. women should not only be attractive but also high-minded
2. The result of research carried out by social scientists show that .
A. people do not realize the importance of looking one's best
B. women in pursuit of managerial jobs are not likely to be paid well
C. good-looking women aspire to managerial positions
D. attractive people generally have an advantage over those who are not
3. Experments by scientists have shown that when people evaluate individuals on certain
attributes .
A. they observe the principle that beauty is only skin-deep
B. they do not usually act according to the views they support
C. they give ordinary-looking persons the lowest ratings
D. they tend to base their judgment on the individual's accomplishments
4. "Good looks cut both ways for women" (Line 1, Para. 5) means that .
A. attractive women have tremendous potential impact on public jobs
B. good-looking women always get the best of everything
C. being attractive is not always an advantage for women
D. attractive women do not do as well as unattractive women in managerial positions
5. It can inferred from the passage that in the business world .
A. handsome men are not affected as much by their looks as attractive women are
B. physically attractive women who are in the public eye usually do quite well
C. physically attractive men and women who are in the public eye usually get ahmg quite well
D. good looks are important for women as they are for men
英语四级阅读理解练习题 第036组
Not content with its doubtful claim to produce cheap food for our own population, the factory farming industry also argues that "hungry nations are benefiting from advances made by the poultry (家禽) industry". In fact, rather than helping the fight against malnutrition (营养不良) in "hungry nations", the spread of factory farming has, inevi tably aggravated the prohlem.
Large-scale intensive meat and poultry production is a waste of food resources. This is because more protein has to be fed to animals in the form of vegetable matter than can ever be recovered in the form of meat. Much of the food value is lost in the animal's process of digestion and cell replacement. Neither, in the case of chicken, can one eat feathers, blood, feet or head. In all, only about 44% of the live animal fits to be eaten as meat.
This means one has to feed approximately 9—10 times as much food value to the animal than one can consume from the carcass. As a system for feeding the hungry, the effects can prove disastrous. At times of crisis, grain is the food of life.
Nevertheless, the huge increase in poultry production throughout Asia and Africa continues. Normally British or US . For instance, an American based multinational company has this year announced its involvement in projects in several African contries. Britain's largest suppliers chickens, Ross Breeders, are also involved in projects all over the world.
Because such trade is good for exports, western governments encourage it. In 1979, a firm in Bangladesh called Phoenix Poultry received a grant to set up a unit of 6,000 chickens and 18,000 laying hens. This almost doubled the number of pouhry kept in the country all at once.
But Bangladesh lacks capital, energy and food and has large numbers of unemployed. Such chicken-raising de mands capital for building and machinery, extensive use of energy resources for automation, and involves feeding chickens with potential famine-relief protein food. At present, one of Bangladesh's main imports is food grains, be cause the country is unable to grow enough food to feed its population. On what then can they possibly feed the chicken?
1. In this passage the author argues that .
A. efficiency must be raised in the poultry industry
B. raising poultry can provide more protein than growing grain
C. factory farming will do more harm than good to developing countries
D. hungry nations may benefit from the development of the poultry industry
2. According to the author, in factory, vegetable food .
A. is easy for chickens to digest
B. is insufficient for the needs of poultry
C. is fully utilized in meat and egg production
D. is inefficiently converted into meat and eggs
3. Western governments encourage the poultry industry in Asia because they regard it as
an effective way to .
A. boost their own exports
B. alleviate malnutrition in Asian countries
C. create job opportunities in Asian countries
D. promote the exports of Asian countries
4. The word "carcass" (Line 2, Para. 3 ) most probably means .
A. vegetables preserved for future use
B. the dead body of an animal ready to be cut into meat
C. expensive food that consumers can hardly afford
D. meat canned for future consumption
5. What the last paragraph tells us is the author's .
A. detailed analysis of the ways of raising poultry in Bangladesh
B. great appreciation of the development of poultry industry in Bangladesh
C. critical view on the development of the poultry industry in Bangladesh
D. practical suggestion for the improvement of the poultry industry in Bangladesh
英语四级阅读理解练习题 第037组
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 surprising causes.
Until a few years ago, the most doctors could do was to counsel patients with bad breath about oral cleanliness. Now new ways to treat the usually curable condition.
Bad breath can happen whenever the normal flow of saliva (唾液) slows. Our mouths are full of bacteria feeding on protein in bits of food and shed tissue. The bacteria emit evil-smelling gases, the worst of which is hydrogen sulfide (硫化物) .
Mouth bacteria thrive in airless conditions. Oxygen-rich saliva keeps their numbers down. When we sleep, for example, the saliva stream slows, and sulfur-producing bacteria gain the upper hand, producing classic "morning breath".
Alcohol, hunger, too much talking, breathing through the mouth during exercise— anything that dries the mouth produces bad breath. So can stress, though it's not understood why. Some people's breath turns sour every time they go on a job interview.
Saliva flow gradually slows with age. which explains why the elderly have more bad-breath trouble than younger people do. Babies, however, who make plenty of saliva and whose mouths contain relatively few bacteria have characteristically sweet breath.
For most of us, the simple, dry-mouth variety of bad breath is easily cured. Eating or drinking starts saliva and sweeps away many of the bacteria. Breakfast often stops morning breath.
Those with chronic dry mouth find that it helps to keep gum, hard candy, or a bottle of water or juice around. Brushing the teeth wipes out dry-mouth bad breath because it clears away many of the offending bacteria.
Surprisingly, one thing that rarely works is mouthwash. The liquid can mask bad-breath odor with its own smell, but the effect lasts no more than an hour. Some mouthwashes claim to kill the bacteria responsible for bad breath. The trouble is, they don't offending germs. Most bacteria are well protected from mouthwash unde, thick layers of mucus (粘液). If the mouthwash contains alcohol—as most do—it can intensify the problem by drying out the mouth.
1. The phrase "emanate from" in Paragraph 1 most probably means .
A. thrive on
B. account for
C. originate from
D. descend from
2. Which of the following is mentioned as one of the causes of bad breath?
A. Tooth trouble.
B. Sulfur-rich food.
C. Too much exercise.
D. Mental strain.
3. According to the passage, alcohol has something to do with bad breath mainly because .
A. it keeps offending bacteria from reproducing
B. its smell adds to bad breath
C. it kills some helpful bacteria
D. it affects the normal flow of saliva
4. Mouthwashes are not an effective cure for bad breath mainly because .
A. they can't mask the bad odor long enough
B. they can't get to all the offending bacteria
C. their strong smell mixes with bad breath and makes it worse
D. they can't cover the thick layers of mucus
5. We can infer from this passage that .
A. offensive breath can't easily be cured
B. elderly people are less offended by bad breath
C. heavy drinkers are less affected by bad breath
D. offensive breath is less affected by alcohol
英语四级阅读理解练习题 第038组
The way people hold to the belief that a fun filled, painfree life equals happiness actually reduces their chances of ever attaining real happiness. If fun and pleasure are equal to must be equal to unhappiness. But in fact, the opposite is true: more often than not things that lead to happiness involve some pain.
As a result, many people avoid the very attempts that are the source of true happiness. They fear the pain inevitably brought by such things as marriage, raising children, professional achievement, religious commitment (承担的业务) , self improvement.
Ask a bachelor (单身汉) why he resists marriage even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying. If he is honest 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, excitement. Marriage has such moments, but they are not its most distinguishing features.
Couples with infant children are lucky to get a whole night's sleep or a three day vacation. I don't know any parent who would choose the word fun to describe raising children. But couple who decide not to have children never know the joys of watching a child grow up or of playing with a grandchild.
Understanding and accepting that true happiness has nothing to do with fun is one of the most liberating realizations. 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 that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless. And it liberates us from envy: we now understand that all those who are always having so much fun actually may not be happy at all.
1. According to the author, a bachelor resists marriage chiefly because .
A. he is reluctant to take on family responsibilities
B. he believes that life will be more cheerful if he remains single
C. he finds more fun in dating than in marriage
D. he fears it will put an end to all his fun adventure and excitement
2. Raising children,r's opinion, is .
A. a moral duty
B. a thankless job
C. a rewarding task
D. a source of inevitable pain
3. From the last paragraph, we learn that envy sometimes stems from .
A. hatred
B. misunderstanding
C. prejudice
D. ignorance
4. To understand what true happiness is one must .
A. have as much run as possible during one's lifetime
B. make every effort to liberate oneself from pain
C. put up with pain under all circumstances
D. be able to distinguish happiness from fun
5. What is the author trying to tell us?
A. Happiness often goes hand in hand with pain.
B. One must know how to attain happiness.
C. It is important to make commitments.
D. It is pain that leads to happiness.
英语四级阅读理解练习题 第039组
"Welcome to the U. S. A. I Major Credit cards accepted !"
By the millions they are coming—no longer the tired, the poor, the wretched masses longing for a better living. These are the wealthy. "We don't have a budget," says a biologist from Brazil, as she walks with two companions through New York City's South Street. "We just use our credit cards."
The U. S. has long been one of the world's destinations, but this year has been exceptional. First there was the World Cup, which drew thousands from every corner of the globe; then came the weakening of the U.S. dollar against major currencies. Now the U. S., still the world's superpower, can also claim to be the world's bargain basement (廉价商品部) . Nobody undersells America these days on just about everything, from consumer electronics to fashion clothes to tennis rackets. Bottom retail prices— anywhere from 30% to 70% lower than those in Europe and Asia—have attracted some 47 million visitors, who are expected to leave behind $ 79 billion in 1994. That's up from $ 74 billion the year before.
True, not everyone comes just for bargains. There remains an undeniable fascination in the rest of the world with all things American, nourished by Hollywood films and U. S. television series. But shopping the U. S. A. is proving irresistible. Every week thousands arrive with empty suitcases ready to be filled; some even rent an additional hotel room to hold their purchases. The buying binge (无节制) has become as important as watching Old Faithful Fountains erupt in Yellowstone Park or sunbathing on a beach in Florida.
The U.S. has come at last to appreciate what other countries learned long ago: the pouring in of foreign tourists may not always be convenient, but it does put money in the bank. And with a trade deficit at about $130 billion and growing for the past 12 months, the U.S. needs all the deposits it can get. Compared with American tourists abroad, visitors to the U.S. stay longer and spend more money at each stop; an average of 12.2 night and $1624 a traveler versus the Americans' four night and $ 298.
1. From what the Brazilian biologist says, we s like her .
A. are reluctant to carry cash with them
B. simply don't care how much they spend
C. are not good at planning their expenditure
D. often spend more money than they can afford
2. The reason why 1994 was exceptional is that .
A. it saw an unusually large number of tourists to the U. S.
B. it witnessed a drop in the number of tourists to the U. S.
C. tourism was hardly affected by the weakening of the U.S. dollar that year
D. tourists came to the U.S. for sightseeing rather than for bargains that year
3. By saying "nobody undersells America" (Line 4, Para. 3), the author means that .
A. no other country underestimates the competitiveness of American products
B. nobody expects the Americans to cut the prices of their commodities
C. nobody restrains the selling of American goods
D. no other country sells at a lower price than America
4. Why does the author assert that all American things are fascinating to foreigners?
A. Because they have gained much publicity through the American media.
B. Because they represent the world's latest fashions.
C. Because they embody the most sophisticated technology.
D. Because they are available at all tourist destinations.
5. From the passage we can conclude that the U.S. has come to realize .
A. the weakening if the U.S. dollar can result in trade deficits
B. the lower the retail prices, the greater the profits
C. tourism can make great contributions to its economy
D. visitors to the U.S. are wealthier than U.S. tourists abroad
