英語(yǔ)六級(jí)考試閱讀理解技巧訓(xùn)練：社會(huì)現(xiàn)象與問題類

20xx年英語(yǔ)六級(jí)考試閱讀理解技巧

訓(xùn)練：社會(huì)現(xiàn)象與問題類

20xx年英語(yǔ)六級(jí)考試閱讀理解技巧訓(xùn)練：社會(huì)現(xiàn)象與

問題類

社會(huì)現(xiàn)象與問題類

Passage1

Somefuturologistshaveassumedthatthevast

upsurge（劇增）ofwomenintheworkforcemay

portendarejectionofmarriage.Manywomen,

accordingtothishypothesis,wouldratherworkthan

marry.Theconverse（反面）ofthisconcernisthatthe

prospectsofbecomingamulti-paycheckhousehold

couldencouragemarriages.Inthepast,onlythe

earningsandfinancialprospectsofthemancountedin

themarriagedecision.Now,however,theearning

abilityofawomancanmakehermoreattractiveasa

marriagepartner.Datashowthateconomicdownturns

tendtopostponemarriagebecausethepartiescannot

affordtoestablishafamilyorareconcernedabout

rainydaysahead.Astheeconomyrebounds,the

numberofmarriagesalsorises.

Coincidentwiththeincreaseinwomenworking

outsidethehomeistheincreaseindivorcerates.Yet,it

maybewrongtojumptoanysimplecause-and-effect

conclusions.Theimpactofawifesworkondivorceis

nolesscloudythanitsimpactonmarriagedecisions.

Therealizationthatshecanbeagoodprovidermay

increasethechancesthataworkingwifewillchoose

divorceoveranunsatisfactorymarriage.Butthe

reverseisequallyplausible.Tensionsgroundedin

financialproblemsoftenplayakeyroleinendinga

marriage.Givenhighunemployment,inflationary

problems,andslowgrowthinrealearnings,aworking

wifecanincreasehouseholdincomeandrelievesome

ofthesepressingfinancialburdens.Byraisingafamilys

standardofliving,aworkingwifemaystrengthenher

familysfinancialandemotionalstability.

Psychologicalfactorsalsoshouldbeconsidered.

Forexample,awifeblockedfromacareeroutsidethe

homemayfeelcagedinthehouse.Shemayviewher

onlychoiceasseekingadivorce.Ontheotherhand,if

shecanfindfulfillmentthroughworkoutsidethehome,

workandmarriagecangotogethertocreateastronger

andmorestableunion.

Also,amajorpartofwomensinequalityin

marriagehasbeenduetothefactthat,inmostcases,

menhaveremainedthemainbreadwinners.With

higherearningcapacityandstatusoccupationsoutside

ofthehomecomesthecapacitytoexercisepower

withinthefamily.Aworkingwifemayrobahusband

ofbeingthemasterofthehouse.Dependinguponhow

thecouplereactstothesenewconditions,itcould

createastrongerequalpartnershiporitcouldcreate

newinsecurities.

1.Thewordportend(Para.1)isclosestinmeaning

to?

A)defyB)signalC)sufferfromD)resultfrom

2.Itissaidinthepassagethatwhentheeconomy

slides,.

A)menwouldchooseworkingwomenastheir

marriagepartners

B)morewomenwouldgetmarriedtoseek

financialsecurity

C)evenworkingwomenwouldworryabouttheir

marriages

D)morepeoplewouldprefertoremainsinglefor

thetimebeing

3.Ifwomenfindfulfillmentthroughworkoutside

thehome,.

A)theyaremorelikelytodominatetheirmarriage

partners

B)theirhusbandsareexpectedtodomore

housework

C)theirmarriagetiescanbestrengthened

D)theytendtoputtheircareerbeforemarriage

4.Onereasonwhywomenwithnocareermay

seekadivorceisthat.

A)theyfeelthattheyhavebeenrobbedoftheir

freedom

B)theyareafraidofbeingbossedaroundbytheir

husbands

C)theyfeelthattheirpartnersfailtoliveupto

theirexpectations

D)theytendtosuspecttheirhusbandsloyaltyto

theirmarriage

5.Whichofthefollowingstatementscanbest

summarizetheauthorsviewinthepassage?

A)Thestabilityofmarriageandthedivorcerate

mayreflecttheeconomicsituationofthecountry.

B)Evenwheneconomicallyindependent,most

womenhavetostruggleforrealequalityinmarriage.

C)Inordertosecuretheirmarriagewomenshould

workoutsidethehomeandremainindependent

D)Theimpactofthegrowingfemaleworkforceon

marriagevariesfromcasetocase.

Passage2

Nowomancanbetoorichortoothin.Thissaying

oftenattributedtothelateDuchess(公爵夫人)of

Windsorembodiesmuchoftheoddspiritofourtimes.

Beingthinisdeemedassuchavirtue.

Theproblemwithsuchaviewisthatsomepeople

actuallyattempttolivebyit.Imyselfhavefantasiesof

slippingintonarrowdesignerclothes.Consequently,I

havebeenonadietforthebetterorworsepartofmy

life.Beingrichwouldntbebadeither,butthatwont

happenunlessanunknownrelativediessuddenlyin

somedistantland,leavingmemillionsofdollars.

Wheredidwegooffthetrack?Whendideating

butterbecomeasin,andalittlebitofextraflesh

unappealing,ifnotrepellent?Allreligionshavecertain

dayswhenpeoplerefrainfromeating,andexcessive

eatingisoneofChristianityssevendeadlysins.

However,untilquiterecently,mostpeoplehada

problemgettingenoughtoeat.Insomereligious

groups,wealthwassymbolofprobablesalvationand

highmoralsandfatnessasignofwealthandwellbeing.

Todaytheoppositeistrue.Wehaveshiftedto

thinnessasournewmarkofvirtue.Theresultisthat

beingfatorevenonlysomewhatoverweight

isbadbecauseitimpliesalackofmoralstrength.

Ourobsession（癡迷）withthinnessisalsofuelled

byhealthconcerns.Itistruethatinthiscountrywe

havemoreoverweightpeoplethaneverbefore,and

thatinmanycases,beingoverweightcorrelateswith

anincreasedriskofheartandbloodvesseldisease.

Thesediseases,however,mayhaveasmuchtodowith

ourwayoflifeandourhigh-fatdietsaswithexcess

weight.Andtheassociatedriskofcancerinthe

digestivesystemmaybemoreofadietaryproblemtoo

muchfatandalackoffiberhanaweightproblem.

Therealconcern,then,isnotthatweweightoo

much,butthatweneitherexerciseenoughnoreatwell.

Exerciseisnecessaryforstrongbonesandbothheart

andlunghealth.Abalanceddietwithoutalotoffat

canalsohelpthebodyavoidmanydiseases.Weshould

surelystoppayingsomuchattentiontoweight.Simply

beingthinisnotenough.Itisactuallyhazardousif

thosewhogetthinthinktheyareautomatically

healthyandthusfreefrompayingattentiontotheir

overalllife-style.Thinnesscanbepurevainglory(虛榮).

1.Intheeyesoftheauthor,anoddphenomenon

nowadaysisthat.

A)theDuchessofWindsorisregardedasawoman

ofvirtue

B)lookingslimisasymbolofhavingalarge

fortune

C)beingthinisviewedasamuchdesiredquality

D)religiouspeoplearenotnecessarilyvirtuous

2.Sweptbytheprevailingtrend,theauthor.

A)hadtogoonadietforthegreaterpartofher

life

B)couldstillpreventherselffromgoingoffthe

track

C)hadtoseekhelpfromrichdistantrelatives

D)hadtowearhighlyfashionableclothes

3.Inhumanhistory,peoplesviewsonbody

weight.

A)werecloselyrelatedtotheirreligiousbeliefsB)

changedfromtimetotime

C)variedbetweenthepoorandtherichD)ledto

differentmoralstandards

4.Theauthorcriticizeswomensobsessionwith

thinness.

A)fromaneconomicandeducationalperspective

B)fromsociologicalandmedicalpointsofview

C)fromahistoricalandreligiousstandpoint

D)inthelightofmoralprinciples

5.Whatstheauthorsadvicetowomenwhoare

absorbedintheideaofthinness?

A)Theyshouldbemoreconcernedwiththeir

overalllifestyle.

B)Theyshouldbemorewatchfulforfataldiseases.

C)Theyshouldgainweighttolookhealthy.

D)Theyshouldridthemselvesoffantasiesabout

designerclothes.

Passage3

Indepartmentstoresandclosetsalloverthe

world,theyarewaiting.Theiroutwardappearance

seemsratherappealingbecausetheycomeinavariety

ofstyles,textures,andcolors.Buttheyareultimately

thebiggestdeceptionthatexistsinthefashion

industrytoday.Whatarethey?Theyarehighheelsa

womansworstenemy(whethersheknowsitornot).

Highheelshoesarethedownfallofmodernsociety.

Fashionmythshaveledwomentobelievethatthey

aremorebeautifulorsophisticatedforwearingheels,

butinreality,heelssucceedinposingshortaswellas

longtermhardships.Womenshouldfightthehighheel

industrybyrefusingtouseorpurchasetheminorder

tosavetheworldfromunnecessaryphysicaland

psychologicalsuffering.

Forthesakeoffairness,itmustbenotedthat

thereisapositivesidetohighheels.First,heelsare

excellentforaerating（使通氣）lawns.Anyonewhohas

everwornheelsongrassknowswhatIamtalking

about.Asimpletriparoundtheyardinapairofthose

babieseliminatesallneedtocallforalawncare

specialist,andprovidestheperfect-sizedholestogive

anylawnoxygenwithoutallthosemessychunksofdirt

lyingaround.Second,heelsarequitefunctionalfor

defenseagainstoncomingenemies,whocaneasilybe

scaredawaybythreateningthemwithapairofthese

sharp,deadlyfashionaccessories.

Regardlessofsuchpracticalusesforheels,thefact

remainsthatwearinghighheelsisharmfultoones

physicalhealth.Talktoanypodiatrist（足病醫(yī)生），and

youwillhearthatthemajorityoftheirbusinesscomes

fromhigh-heel-wearingwomen.Highheelsareknown

tocauseproblemssuchasdeformedfeetandtorn

toenails.Theriskofseverebackproblemsandtwisted

orbrokenanklesisthreetimeshigherforaflatshoe

wearer.Wearingheelsalsocreatesthethreatof

gettingaheelcaughtinasidewalkcrackora

sewer-grate（陰溝柵）andbeingthrowntothe

groundpossiblybreakinganose,back,orneck.Andof

course,afterwearingheelsforaday,anywoman

knowsshecanlookforwardtoanightofpainasshe

triestocomfortherswollen,achingfeet.

1.Whatmakeswomenblindtothedeceptive

natureofhighheels?

A)Themulti-functionaluseofhighheels.B)Their

attempttoshowofftheirstatus.

C)Therichvarietyofhighheelstyles.D)Their

wishtoimprovetheirappearance.

2.Theauthorspresentationofthepositivesideof

highheelsismeant.

A)tobeironicB)topokefunatwomen

C)tobefairtothefashionindustryD)tomakehis

pointconvincing

3.Theauthorusestheexpressionthosebabies

(Line3,Para.2)torefertohighheels.

A)toshowtheirfragilecharacteristicsB)to

indicatetheirfemininefeatures

C)toshowwomensaffectionforthemD)to

emphasizetheirsmallsize

4.Theauthorschiefargumentagainsthighheelsis

that.

A)theyposeathreattolawnsB)they

areinjurioustowomenshealth

C)theydontnecessarilymakewomenbeautiful

D)theyareineffectiveasaweaponofdefense

5.Itcanbeinferredfromthepassagethatwomen

should.

A)seethroughtheverynatureoffashionmyths

B)boycotttheproductsofthefashionindustry

C)gotoapodiatristregularlyforadvice

D)avoidfollowingfashiontooclosely

Passage4

Intheworldofentertainment,TVtalkshowshave

undoubtedlyfloodedeveryinchofspaceondaytime

television.Andanyonewhowatchesthemregularly

knowsthateachonevariesinstyleandformat.Butno

twoshowsaremoreprofoundlyoppositeincontent,

whileatthesametimestandingoutabovetherest,

thantheJerrySpringerandtheOprahWinfreyshows.

JerrySpringercouldeasilybeconsideredtheking

oftrashtalk(廢話).Thetopicsonhisshowareas

shockingasshockingcanbe.Forexample,theshow

takestheever-commontalkshowthemesoflove,sex,

cheating,guilt,hate,conflictandmoralitytoadifferent

level.Clearly,theJerrySpringershowisadisplayand

exploitationofsocietysmoralcatastrophes（災(zāi)難），yet

peoplearewillingtoeatuptheintriguing

predicaments（逆境）ofotherpeopleslives.

LikeJerrySpringer,OprahWinfreytakesTVtalk

showtoitsextreme,butOprahgoesintheopposite

direction.Theshowfocusesontheimprovementof

societyandanindividualsqualityoflife.Topicsrange

fromteachingyourchildrenresponsibility,managing

yourworkweek,togettingtoknowyourneighbors.

ComparedtoOprah,theJerrySpringershowlooks

likepoisonouswastebeingdumpedonsociety.Jerry

endseveryshowwithafinalword.Hemakesasmall

speechthatsumsuptheentiremoraloftheshow.

Hopefully,thisisthepartwheremostpeoplewilllearn

somethingveryvaluable.

Cleanasitis,theOprahshowisnotforeveryone.

Theshowsmaintargetaudiencearemiddle-class

Americans.Mostofthesepeoplehavethetime,money

andstabilitytodealwithlifestougherproblems.Jerry

Springer,ontheotherhand,hasmoreofanassociation

withtheyoungadultsofsociety.Theseare18-to21-

year-o