6月22日每周一练

Passage 1

1 Nearly 54 million cars and trucks in the United States are equipped with装有 driver side air bags located in the center of the steering wheel方向盘. 24 million also have a passenger-side device装置 located in the dashboard仪表盘. Air bags are designed to protect against sudden, fierce猛烈的, frontal正面的 highway impacts冲撞.

2 Five years ago evidence of serious air-bag injuries伤害 began to surface浮出水面. Drivers in minor fender benders轻微交通事故 suffered severe eye and ear injuries, broken bones and third-degree burns from the force of the inflating bags安全防护气囊. In December 1991 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) advised parents to avoid putting rear-facing面部朝后的 infant sets in front of air bags, acknowledging that the force of the explosive爆炸性的 bag could harm infants, whose heads were only inches away from the devices.

3 Last October it was determined that all children 12 and under were more susceptible易受影响的 to injury and death than adults; their more fragile脆弱的 bodies were seated lower, increasing the impact of the air bag to the head area. In addition, more children were not properly restrained约束，受限制 or were out of position when the air bag inflated充气，膨胀. On November 22, 1996, after nearly 60 deaths and thousands of injuries were attributed to归因于[因果逻辑] the devices, the NHTSA mandated强制执行 improved labels for all new vehicles交通工具，车辆, warning of the risk to children under 13. Despite these problems, officials stress强调 the overall effectiveness效力 of these devices. “All in all最重要的是, air bags work well and are responsible for是…的原由an 11 percent reduction减少，下降 in driver fatalities死亡率,” says NHTSA Administrator Dr. Ricardo Martinez. “First and foremost首先，首要, make sure you’re properly buckled up系好安全带 before getting on the road,” says Brain O’Neill, president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Keep in mind how close you sit to an air bag. Push seats as far back as possible, remaining just close enough to control the pedals油门. Your face and torso躯体 should be at least ten to 12 inches from the steering column转向柱. “It’s not a bad idea actually to measure the distance with a ruler to be sure.” adds O’Neill.

4 Adjustable可调节的 steering wheels should be pointed toward the chest rather than the head to prevent inflating bag from damaging the face or neck. Also, position hands at nine o’clock and three o’clock on the wheel to keep your arms away from an opening air bag.

5 Pregnant怀孕的 women in particular should keep their abdomen腹部 as distant from the air bag as possible. In the final trimester三个月，一学期, women should point adjustable steering wheels upward, away from their fetus胎儿.

Perhaps most important, children 12 and under should always ride in the back seat, buckled up.

【短文大意】在美国有七千八百万汽车和卡车上装有防护气囊，用来缓解猛烈的正面冲击。五年前严重的防护气囊事故开始出现，去年10月测定出12岁以下的孩子比成人更容易伤亡，1996年11月近60人死亡几千人受伤都归因于防护气囊装置。但总的说来，这种装置还是有用的，使司机死亡率减少了11%。所以公路安全保险部门告诫人们上路之前一定要系好安全带，不要坐得太靠前，只要刚好能踩着油门就可以了。可调方向盘应对准胸前而不是头部，孕妇尤其要尽可能使腹部远离防护气囊，12岁以下的孩子应该系上安全带坐在后座。

 

1. From the passage, we learned that   D  .

A) there are 24 million cars and trucks in the United States

B) there are 78 million cars and trucks in the United States

C) there are 24 million cars and trucks equipped with air-bags in the United States

D) there are 78 million cars and trucks equipped with air-bags in the United States

【解析】细节+简单推论题。此题考查对文章头两句的理解，根据选项共同信息million cars and trucks in the United States定位至第一段第1、2句“Nearly 54 million cars and trucks in the United States are equipped with driver side air bags located in the center of the steering wheel. 24 million also have a passenger-side device located in the dashboard. 将近有5400万辆美国的汽车和卡车的司机座在方向盘中央配备了安全气囊，有2400万辆车在乘客座位前也安装了防护气囊”，所以美国总共有7800万辆配备了air-bags。

 

2. The air bags are   D  .

A) safety devices which can protect people from being hurt during highway accidents

B) unsafe devices which hurt many people

C) safety devices which saved 11% American drivers

D) safety devices but need to be improved

【解析】细节+简单推论题。第二段第1句就提到“Five years ago evidence of serious air-bag injuries began to surface. 五年前严重的防护气囊事故开始出现。”可见防护气囊作为安全防护装置还存在着一些危险，有待更进一步完善。【old fact】Air bags are designed to protect against sudden, fierce frontal highway impacts. 但是airbag也会带来injuries.【new fact】第二段第一句话“Five years ago evidence of serious air-bag injuries began to surface.”

 

3. The air-bag is located in the center of the steering wheel, so you should   D  .

A) keep in mind how close you sit to an air bag

B) push the front seat as far back as possible, remaining just close enough to control the pedal

C) keep your face and torso at least 10 to 12 inches from the steering column

D) all of the above

【解析】细节题。此题考查对段意的理解，根据文章第四段的大意可知A、B、C均为应注意的事项，因此选D。

 

4. Adjustable steering wheels should   A  .

A) be pointed toward the chest rather than the head

B) be driven at 9 o’clock

C) be driven at 3 o’clock

D) keep your arms away from an opening air bag

【解析】细节题。根据“Adjustable steering wheels”定位至文章第四段第1句“Adjustable steering wheels should be pointed toward the chest rather than the head to prevent inflating bag from damaging the face or neck.”

 

5. The air bag is a good safety device, but children 12 and under should always ride in the back seat buckled up means   C  .

A) air bags are no good for children

B) air bags are only good for the parents who have more than 12 children

C) the best position for children to ride a car is in the back seat and be buckled up

D) the front seat is unsafe for young people

【解析】句意题。此题问“防护气囊是安全装置，但12岁以下的儿童应该总是坐在后座并且系上安全带意味着……”，答案应该在but后面，当然要提到孩子，根据文章所述观点“Perhaps most important, children 12 and under should always ride in the back seat, buckled up.”这是最好的保护儿童的方式。

 

 

Passage 2

1 Parents are often upset心烦的 when their children praise the homes of their friends and regard it as a slur（诋毁） on their own cooking, or cleaning, or furniture, and often are foolish that they are annoyed烦恼的. They may even[递进] accuse指责 them of disloyalty不忠, or make some unpleasant remark评论 about the friends’ parents. Such a loss of dignity尊严 and descent into childish behavior on the part of the adults deeply shocks冲击 the teenagers青少年（13-19岁）, and makes them decide that in future they will not talk to their parents about the places or people they visit. Before very long the parents will be complaining抱怨 that the child is so secretive神秘的 and never tells them anything, but they seldom realize that they have brought this on themselves.

当父母听到孩子赞扬自己朋友的家庭时，常常会感到沮丧，当孩子们夸奖其他孩子的家庭时，父母常常会感到沮丧，因为他们会认为那是对他们的厨艺，清洁或者家具的一种诋毁，还常常很可笑地会发怒。他们甚至会指责孩子的不忠，也因此而造成对其他孩子家长的不好的印象。如此尊严的缺失和孩子气的行为深深打击了青少年们，他们决定不再把自己参观的地方和拜访的人告诉他们的父母。长久之后，父母会抱怨孩子是如此的神秘，从来不告诉他们任何事情，但是他们没有意识到是自己造成这种现象的发生。

2 Disillusionment（幻想破灭）with the parents, however good and adequate足够的 they may be both as parents and as individuals, is to some degree inevitable不可避免的. Most children have such a high ideal of their parents, unless the parents themselves have been unsatisfactory, that it can hardly hope to stand up to经得起，抵抗 a realistic evaluation评价. Parents would be greatly surprised and deeply touched受感动的 if they realized how much belief their children usually have in their character and infallibility绝无错误, and realized that it was a sign迹象 that the child was growing up and developing valuable powers of observation and independent judgment, they would not be so hurt, and therefore[因果] would not drive the child into opposition反对，对立 by resenting怨恨 and resisting抵抗 it.

对父母的幻想破灭，无论是从父母的角度还是个人的角度，从某种程度上讲都是不可避免的。大多数孩子对父母的印象都是很理想的，除非父母自己表现得不能令人满意，不然的话他们也不希望去面对一个真实的评价。如果父母们能够意识到他们在孩子心目中的形象，他们将感到震惊和激动，他们将意识到这是孩子长大的一个迹象，他们正在拥有观察和独立判断的能力。这样的话他们也不会感到受伤，也不会把孩子们推向憎恨的对立面。

3 The teenager, with his passion激情，热情 for sincerity真诚, always respects尊敬 a parent who admits that he is wrong, or ignorant无知的，愚昧的, or even that he has been unfair or unjust. What the child can’t forgive is the parents’ refusal to admit these charges if the child knows them to be true.

如果父母们能够承认自己的错误、无知或不公正，那么青少年经常会出于真心地尊重父母。让孩子们所不能原谅的就是父母们拒绝承认那些他们所犯的错误。

Victorian（维多利亚时代的） parents believed that they kept their dignity by retreating撤退 behind an unreasoning不讲理的 authoritarian独裁主义的 attitude; in fact they did nothing of the kind, but children were then too frightened to let them know how they really felt. Today we tend to go to the other extreme极端, but on the whole总而言之 this is a healthier attitude both for the child and the parents. It is always wiser and safer to face up to reality, however[转折] painful it may be at the moment.

维多利亚时代的父母认为他们可靠无理的权威姿态来维护自己的尊严，实际上这根本不行，只不过孩子们害怕去告诉他们真正的想法。今天我们趋向于另一个极端，而这个方法对于孩子和父母来说都是更有效的。它将会让我们面对现实时候更加的聪明和安全，然而此刻还是痛苦的。

 

6. According to the passage, when the children praise the homes of their friends, their parents tend not to   C  .

A) be sad

B) speak bad words about the friends parents

C) praise with them

D) regard the praise as a slur on their own home

【解析】细节题。根据题干信息when the children praise the homes of their friends 定位至第一段第1、2句话“Parents are often upset when their children praise the homes of their friends and regard it as a slur on their own cooking, or cleaning, or furniture, and often are foolish that they are annoyed. They may even accuse them of disloyalty, or make some unpleasant remark about the friends’ parents.”A和D均是父母的表现，所以排除，而B选项文章并未提及。

 

7. In paragraph 2, by “high ideal”, the author means   B  .

A) the realistic evaluation

B) children’s deep belief in their parents’ character and infallibility

C) the parents’ preparation for adolescent reaction青春期反应

D) parents’ being good and adequate

【解析】词义题。第二段第3句“Parents would be greatly surprised and deeply touched if they realized how much belief their children usually have in their character and infallibility, and realized that it was a sign that the child was growing up and developing valuable powers of observation and independent judgment, they would not be so hurt, and therefore would not drive the child into opposition by resenting and resisting it.”中提到父母们没有意识到自己在孩子心目中的形象“in their character and infallibility”，所以选B。

 

8．According to the passage, what can’t be accepted by the teenager?  C

A) The parents’ ignorance

B) His own slur

C) The parents’ refusal to admit their mistake

D) His resentment to his parents

【解析】细节题。文章第三段最后一句“What the child can’t forgive is the parents’ refusal to admit these charges if the child knows them to be true.”表明，孩子们最无法忍受的就是父母们拒绝去承认错误，故选C。

 

9. In the last sentence of paragraph 4, “retreating behind an unreasoning authoritarian attitude” may mean   D  .

A) not caring what their children’s behavior

B) stating no reason for their attitude

C) drawing back from their unreasonable authoritarian attitude

D) covering themselves with an unreasonable strict attitude

【解析】句意题。根据题意答案应含有“attitude”，故A、B选项不符合题意，首先排除。虽然“retreating”和C选项中“drawing back”意思接近，但介词“from”错。故选D，通过用一种不讲理的严厉的姿态掩饰自己。“authoritarian”意指父母们端起父母架子，而后句提到孩子“afraid”说出自己的想法，看出父母们用一种严厉的态度来制止孩子表达对他们的想法。

 

10. According to the passage, which statement is true?  D

A) The children may forgive their parents at all times.

B) The parents realize that they are responsible for the secretiveness of their children

C) If the parents act improperly, their children would always regard themselves as the most ideal.

D) The children would respect their parents as long as they admit their wrong doings.

【详细解答】细节题。A，B，C三个选项都不符合文意。只有当父母们改变自己的态度，去承认自己所犯的错误时，孩子们就会原谅他们的父母，所以选D。