2007年6月恩波六级模拟试卷－阅读2

Section B

Directions：There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the center.

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

Passage One

Questions 52 to 56 are based on the following passage.

Opinion poll surveys show that the public see scientists in a rather unflattering light.

Commonly, the scientist is also seen as being male. It is true that most scientists are male, but the picture of science as a male activity may be a major reason why fewer girls than boys opt for science, except when it comes to biology, which is seen as "female."

The image most people have of science and scientists comes from their own experience of school science, and from the mass media. Science teachers themselves see it as a problem that so many school pupils find school science an unsatisfying experience, though over the last few years more and more pupils, including girls, have opted for science subjects.

In spite of excellent documentaries, and some good popular science magazines, scientific stories in the media still usually alternate between miracle and scientific threat. The popular stereotype of science is like the magic of fairy tales: it has potential for enormous good or awful harm. Popular fiction is full of "good" scientists saving the world, and "mad" scientists trying to destroy it.

From all the many scientific stories which might be given media treatment, those which are chosen are usually those which can be framed in terms of the usual news angles: novelty, threat, conflict or the bizarre. The routine and often tedious work of the scientist slips from view, to be replaced with a picture of scientists forever offending public moral sensibilities (as in embryo research), threatening public health (as in weapons research), or fighting it out with each other (in giving evidence at public enquiries such as those held on the issues connected with nuclear power).

The mass media also tends to over-personalize scientific work, depicting it as the product of individual genius, while neglecting the social organization which makes scientific work possible. A further effect of this is that science comes to be seen as a thing in itself: a kind of uNPRedictable force; a tide of scientific progress.

It is no such thing, of course. Science is what scientists do; what they do is what a particular kind of society facilitates, and what is done with their work depends very much on who has the power to turn their discoveries into technology, and what their interests are.

52. According to the passage, ordinary people have a poor opinion of science and scientists partly because ______.

A) of the misleading of the media
B) opinion polls are unflattering
C) scientists are shown negatively in the media
D) science is considered to be dangerous

53. Fewer girls than boys study science because ______.

A) they think that science is too difficult
B) they are often unsuccessful in science at school
C) science is seen as a man's job
D) science is considered to be tedious 和谐四六级 http://cet.hjenglish.com

54. Media treatment of science tends to concentrate on _____.

A) the routine, everyday work of scientists
B) discoveries that the public will understand
C) the more sensational aspects of science
D) the satisfactions of scientific work

55. According to the author, over-personalization of scientific work will lead science

A) isolation from the rest of the world
B) improvements on school system
C) association with "femaleness"
D) trouble in recruiting young talent

56. According to the author, what a scientist does _______.

A) should be attributed to his individual genius
B) depends on the coordination of the society
C) shows his independent power
D) is uNPRedictable

Passage Two

Questions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.和谐四六级 http://cet.hjenglish.com

The tendency to look for some outside group to blame for our misfortunes is certainly common and it is often sustained by social prejudice. There seems to be little doubt that one of the principal causes of prejudice is fear: in particular the fear that the interests of our own group are going to be endangered by the actions of another. This is less likely to be the case in a stable, relatively unchanging society in which the members of different social and occupational groups know what to expect of each other, and know what to expect for themselves. In times of rapid racial and economic change, however, new occupations and new social roles appear, and people start looking jealously at each other to see whether their own group is being left behind.

Once prejudice develops, it is hard to stop, because there are often social forces at work which actively encourage unfounded attitudes of hostility and fear towards other groups. One such force is education: We all know that children can be taught history in such a way as to perpetuate old hatred and old prejudices between racial and political groups. Another social influence that has to be reckoned with is the pressure of public opinion. People often think and act differently in groups from the way they would do as individuals. It takes a considerable effort of will, and often calls for great courage, to stand out against one's fellows and insist that they are wrong.

Why is it that we hear so much more about the failures of relationships between communities than we do about the successes? I am afraid it is partly due to the increase in communication which radio, television and the popular press have brought about. In those countries where the media of mass communication are commercial enterprises, they tend to measure success by the size of their audience; and people are more likely to buy a newspaper, for instance, if their attention is caught by something dramatic, something sensational, or something that arouses their anxiety. The popular press flourishes on "scare headlines", and popular orators, especially if they are politicians addressing a relatively unsophisticated audience, know that the best way to arouse such an audience is to frighten them.和谐四六级 http://cet.hjenglish.com

Where there is a real or imaginary threat to economic security, this is especially likely to inflame group prejudice. It is important to remember economic factors if we wish to lessen prejudice between groups, because unless they are dealt with directly it will be little use simply advising people not to be prejudiced against other groups whom they see as their rivals, if not their enemies.

57. Which of the following does the author see as the chief source of prejudice?

A) The distorted ideas which are believed as statement of fact.
B) Fear that personal interest will be invaded.
C) The dispute which is favorable to the opponents not one's own part.
D) The concepts that a community takes for granted.

58. What part do newspapers and radio play in inter-communal relationships?

A) They educate people not to look jealously at each other
B) They cause further prejudice among audience.
C) They discuss interesting problems in more details
D) They draw the audience's attention to prejudice.

59. What's the subject of paragraph 2?和谐四六级 http://cet.hjenglish.com

A) How to eliminate our prejudice.
B) The pressure of social opinion.
C) The role of education to children.
D) Social forces that strengthen our bias

60. Which of the following can be used to describe the author's opinion about prejudice?

A) It is a difficult problem to solve.
B) It can be done away with.
C) It is an evil state of mind.
D) It should be criticized.

61. What's the author's purpose of writing this article?

A) To analyze social prejudice between social groups.
B) To reveal the danger of social prejudice.
C) To blame the politicians for frightening the audience
D) To show some examples of people's prejudice.