大学英语主旨大意题练习题（含答案）

Passage1Age has its privileges in America, and one of the more prominent of them is the senior citizendiscount.Anyonewhohasreached a certainage-insomecasesas lowas55-isautomaticallyentitled to a dazzling arrayof pricereductions at nearly every level of commercial life.Eligibilityis determined notby ones need butbythe date on onesbirth certificate.Practicallyunheard ofa generation ago,thediscounts have become a routinepart of manybusinesses-as common ascolor televisions in model rooms and free coffee on airliners.Peoplewithgrayhairoftenaregiven the discounts without even asking for them:yet, millions of Americans above age 60 arehealthy and solvent（有支付能力的).Businesses that would neverdare offer discounts to collegebecause ofthewidespread belief that“elderly"and“needy"are synonymous（同义的).Perhapsthat once was true, but today elderly Americans as a group have a lower poverty rate than the restof the population To be sure, there is economic diversity within the elderly, and many olderAmericans are poor.But most ofthem aren't.It is impossible to determine the impact of the discounts on individual companies. For manyfirms, they are a stimulus to revenue. But in other cases the discounts are given at the expense,directly or indirectly, of younger Americans. Moreover, they are a direct irritant in what somepoliticians and scholars see as a coming conflictbetween thegenerationsGenerational tensions are being fueled by continuing debate over Social Security benefits,which mostly involves a transfer of resources from the young to the old. Employment is anothersore point.Buoyed (支持）by laws and court decisions, more and more older Americans aredeclining the retirement dinner in favor of staying on the job-thereby lessening employmentandpromotionopportunitiesforyoungerworkers.Far from a kind of charity they once were, senior citizen discounts have become a formidableeconomicprivilegetoagroupwithmillionsofmemberswhodon't needthemIt no longer makes sense to treat the elderly as a single group whose economic needs deservepriority over those of others.Senior citizen discounts only enhance the myth that olderpeoplecan t take careof themselves and need special treatment; and theythreatenthe creationof a newmyth, that the elderly are ungrateful and taking for themselves at the expense of children and otherage groups. Senior citizen discounts are the essence of the very thing older Americans are fightingagainst -discrimination by age【题目】1. Which of the following best summarizes the author's main argument?[A] Senior citizens should fight hard against agediscrimination.[B]The elderly areselfish and taking seniordiscountsforgranted.[c]Priority should be given to the economic needs of senior citizens[D]Senior citizen discounts maywell be a type of age discriminationPassage 2What's pumping up Internet company valuations? What should we think of the global euphoria（精神愉快）over“document"companies?Undoubtedly，Internettechnologywill changethewaywe live, work, communicate and do business.But beware of those who proclaim this to be a NewEra of profitability. As in the so-called New Eras of the past brought on by earlier technologicalbreakthroughs, this onetames the seeds of its owndestruction.Thephenomenal growthof Internetbusinesses is already fueling a Klondike-style gold rush, with far too many diggers looking for far1

1 Passage 1 Age has its privileges in America, and one of the more prominent of them is the senior citizen discount. Anyone who has reached a certain age — in some cases as low as 55 — is automatically entitled to a dazzling array of price reductions at nearly every level of commercial life. Eligibility is determined not by one s need but by the date on one s birth certificate. Practically unheard of a generation ago, the discounts have become a routine part of many businesses — as common as color televisions in model rooms and free coffee on airliners. People with gray hair often are given the discounts without even asking for them: yet, millions of Americans above age 60 are healthy and solvent (有支付能力的).Businesses that would never dare offer discounts to college because of the widespread belief that “elderly” and “needy” are synonymous (同义的). Perhaps that once was true, but today elderly Americans as a group have a lower poverty rate than the rest of the population. To be sure, there is economic diversity within the elderly, and many older Americans are poor. But most of them aren’t. It is impossible to determine the impact of the discounts on individual companies. For many firms, they are a stimulus to revenue. But in other cases the discounts are given at the expense, directly or indirectly, of younger Americans. Moreover, they are a direct irritant in what some politicians and scholars see as a coming conflict between the generations. Generational tensions are being fueled by continuing debate over Social Security benefits, which mostly involves a transfer of resources from the young to the old. Employment is another sore point. Buoyed (支持) by laws and court decisions, more and more older Americans are declining the retirement dinner in favor of staying on the job — thereby lessening employment and promotion opportunities for younger workers. Far from a kind of charity they once were, senior citizen discounts have become a formidable economic privilege to a group with millions of members who don’t need them. It no longer makes sense to treat the elderly as a single group whose economic needs deserve priority over those of others. Senior citizen discounts only enhance the myth that older people can t take care of themselves and need special treatment; and they threaten the creation of a new myth, that the elderly are ungrateful and taking for themselves at the expense of children and other age groups. Senior citizen discounts are the essence of the very thing older Americans are fighting against — discrimination by age. 【题目】 1. Which of the following best summarizes the author’s main argument? ［Ａ］ Senior citizens should fight hard against age discrimination. ［B］ The elderly are selfish and taking senior discounts for granted. ［C］ Priority should be given to the economic needs of senior citizens. ［D］ Senior citizen discounts may well be a type of age discrimination. Passage 2 What’s pumping up Internet company valuations? What should we think of the global euphoria (精神愉快) over “document” companies? Undoubtedly, Internet technology will change the way we live, work, communicate and do business. But beware of those who proclaim this to be a New Era of profitability. As in the so-called New Eras of the past brought on by earlier technological breakthroughs, this one tames the seeds of its own destruction. The phenomenal growth of Internet businesses is already fueling a Klondike-style gold rush, with far too many diggers looking for far

too little gold. Most Internet companies are likely to be out of business just as quickly as theybecome investors darlings. And those that survive aren't likely to achieve any meaningfulearnings. Economics teaches us that it is hard to make money with a basically free commodity.Think of ice in the Arctic, sand in the desert, seawater in the ocean or, forthat matter, theseeminglyunlimited“hot air"ontheNetConsiderwhat inspiredtheNewErasof yore（往昔):thediscoveryvoyages of the15th century,theconstruction of canalsand railroads,the introduction ofelectricity andthetelephone.Inthe20th century,theproliferation(扩散)ofcars,radios,movies,televisions, and computers all inspired a sense that we had begun a New Era Each breakthroughpromised new riches and unprecedented prosperity for the innovators. But in the long run, theyalwaysfailed to deliver to investors the expected rewards.Why theletdowns?In part becauseevery great innovator invariably attracted great imitators, who competed with the original andeventually depressed his“excessive"profitmarginby commercializingthe inventionFurthermore,great inventions have always been followed by greater innovations, which, through the processknownascreativedestruction,renderthepreviousnewtechnologyobsolete（陈旧日的)TaketheErieCanal, whichwas completed in1825.Its success led tothegreatAmerican canal boom of the183Os.It ended justafewyears later ina tremendous failure, as most of the other canals failed tomake money.The Erie, too, began to suffer from stiffer competition, first from railroads and,eventually, from trucks.Subsequently,the railroad industry,endured a similar fate.The railroadindustry whichhelped createanunprecedented industrial boom provedtobe disastrous formostinvestors.By 1895, most U.S.railroads had to be restructured or were in receivership; outside theU.S., the massacre was even greater. Now familiar technologies like cars, radios, cash registersand host computers were all at some point new and revolutionary.But the spread of thetechnologies led inevitably to the end of their creators'“excessive" profits, as each became justanother commodity.Don'tthinkfora minute that the Internet will be any different.【题目】2.The author writes this article to[A]showtheKlondike nature of the Internet rush[B]break upthemythofexcessive"”profits[C]degrade all the New Eras in the human history[D] degrade the influence of innovationPassage3There is space in this article for only one of many possible examples of how the emergingscientific cosmology（宇宙观）could provideabasisfora livingfunctional cosmologyforthe21st century that like ancient cosmologies, can help steer humanity.Standard Big Bang theoryexplains the creation of the light elements in the first 3 minutes, but it does not explain whatpreceded or what has followed. Gravity alone could not have created the intricate, grandscalestructures and flows of galaxies that are observed to exist.Ifmatter were utterly evenly distributedcoming out of the Big Bang, gravity could have done nothing but bear on the rate of the overallexpansion. Consequently,either some causal phenomenon such as“cosmic strings"acting afterthe Big Bang formed the giant structures, we observe today which looks increasingly dubiousbecause suchtheories collidewith thenewobservations of the cosmicbackground radiationonelsegravity must have had somedifferences in densityto work withfromthe beginning.CosmicInflation could have caused such original differences.The theory of Cosmic Inflation was2

2 too little gold. Most Internet companies are likely to be out of business just as quickly as they become investors’ darlings. And those that survive aren’t likely to achieve any meaningful earnings. Economics teaches us that it is hard to make money with a basically free commodity. Think of ice in the Arctic, sand in the desert, seawater in the ocean or, for that matter, the seemingly unlimited “hot air” on the Net. Consider what inspired the New Eras of yore (往昔): the discovery voyages of the 15th century, the construction of canals and railroads, the introduction of electricity and the telephone. In the 20th century, the proliferation (扩散) of cars, radios, movies, televisions, and computers all inspired a sense that we had begun a New Era. Each breakthrough promised new riches and unprecedented prosperity for the innovators. But in the long run, they always failed to deliver to investors the expected rewards. Why the letdowns? In part because every great innovator invariably attracted great imitators, who competed with the original and eventually depressed his “excessive” profit margin by commercializing the invention. Furthermore, great inventions have always been followed by greater innovations, which, through the process known as creative destruction, render the previous new technology obsolete (陈旧的).Take the Erie Canal, which was completed in 1825. Its success led to the great American canal boom of the 1830s. It ended just a few years later in a tremendous failure, as most of the other canals failed to make money. The Erie, too, began to suffer from stiffer competition, first from railroads and, eventually, from trucks. Subsequently, the railroad industry, endured a similar fate. The railroad industry which helped create an unprecedented industrial boom proved to be disastrous for most investors. By 1895, most U.S. railroads had to be restructured or were in receivership; outside the U.S., the massacre was even greater. Now familiar technologies like cars, radios, cash registers and host computers were all at some point new and revolutionary. But the spread of the technologies led inevitably to the end of their creators’ “excessive” profits, as each became just another commodity. Don’t think for a minute that the Internet will be any different. 【题目】 2. The author writes this article to_ . ［Ａ］ show the Klondike nature of the Internet rush ［B］ break up the myth of “excessive” profits ［C］ degrade all the New Eras in the human history ［D］ degrade the influence of innovation Passage 3 There is space in this article for only one of many possible examples of how the emerging scientific cosmology (宇宙观) could provide a basis for a living, functional cosmology for the 21st century that, like ancient cosmologies, can help steer humanity. Standard Big Bang theory explains the creation of the light elements in the first 3 minutes, but it does not explain what preceded or what has followed. Gravity alone could not have created the intricate, grand scale structures and flows of galaxies that are observed to exist. If matter were utterly evenly distributed coming out of the Big Bang, gravity could have done nothing but bear on the rate of the overall expansion. Consequently, either some causal phenomenon such as “cosmic strings” acting after the Big Bang formed the giant structures, we observe today which looks increasingly dubious because such theories collide with the new observations of the cosmic background radiation — or else gravity must have had some differences in density to work with from the beginning. Cosmic Inflation could have caused such original differences. The theory of Cosmic Inflation was

proposed two decades ago by Alan Guth, Andrei Linde, and others. It is the only explanation wehave today for the initial conditions that led to the Big Bang. It says that for an extremely smallfraction of a second at the beginning of the Big Bang, the universe expanded manyfold, inflatingmyriadrandomquantumevents intheprocess,and leavingthenewly created spacetimefaintlywrinkled on all size scales. All large structures in the universe today grew from these quantumfluctuations, enormouslyinflatedin scale.Inflation is also the controlling metaphor of our culture in the present epoch. Not only is thehuman population inflating, so too are the average technological power and the resource use ofeach individual.Thehuman race is addictedto exponential（指数)growth,but this plainly cannotcontinue at the present rate. In afinite environment, inflation must end, however cleverly we maypostpone or disguise the inevitable. The single most important question for the present generationmaybehowglobal civilization can makethetransitiongracefullyfrominflatingconsumptiontoasustainablelevel.Butthecosmictransitionfrominflationtotheslowand steadyexpansionthatfollowed the Big Bang shows that ending inflation does not mean that all growth must stop, eventhough many people trying to save the planet assume so.Inflation transformed to expansion cango on for billions of years.Human life can continue tobe enhanced as long as our creativityinrestoringtheEarth staysahead of ourmaterialgrowth【题目】3 Which of the following best summarizes the author s main argument?[A]Thetheoryof CosmicInflation andBigBangcombineto explainclearlyhowtheworldbegins.[B] Scientific cosmology influences functional cosmology which guides human civilization[c] Resource consumption should slow down to a modest growth rate just as the universeexpands.[D] More studies should be made since we still don't know the Big Bang clearly andcompletely.Passage 4Obesity (fatness) is defined as body weight of 15 percent or more above the ideal for oneheight and age. By this criterion, about one third of the adult population of the United States isobese, and the percentage is growing. The rates of obesity vary in different races, cultures,subcultures, and social classes.In industrialized countries,fatness tends to be inversely correlatedwith socioeconomic status, that is,people in lower social classes tend to be more obese.Ineconomically backward nations, the direction ofthe correlation is reversed:the richer, thefatter,atleast for women.The situation in the underdeveloped world probably approximates the state ofaffairs through most of human evolution. Particularly for women, whose pregnancies could extendintotimesof scarcity,largerinternal food reserves wereadapted in theface of variable externalreserves.Although obesity may sound like an objectivephenomenon, it is to some degreeculturally relative.In a study done byRand in 2001, when the researchers in the study askedsubjects if they had a weight problem, they found that white women worried about their weighteven when they were under their ideal body weight, whereas the other groups did not A study ofblack and white undergraduates yielded complementary results. Even though black, and especiallyblack females, were heavier than whites, they were more satisfied with their weight and less likelytofind weight on otherpeople(particularlywomen)unattractive.Men weremore concerned about3

3 proposed two decades ago by Alan Guth, Andrei Linde, and others. It is the only explanation we have today for the initial conditions that led to the Big Bang. It says that for an extremely small fraction of a second at the beginning of the Big Bang, the universe expanded manyfold, inflating myriad random quantum events in the process, and leaving the newly created spacetime faintly wrinkled on all size scales. All large structures in the universe today grew from these quantum fluctuations, enormously inflated in scale. Inflation is also the controlling metaphor of our culture in the present epoch. Not only is the human population inflating; so too are the average technological power and the resource use of each individual. The human race is addicted to exponential (指数) growth, but this plainly cannot continue at the present rate. In a finite environment, inflation must end, however cleverly we may postpone or disguise the inevitable. The single most important question for the present generation may be how global civilization can make the transition gracefully from inflating consumption to a sustainable level. But the cosmic transition from inflation to the slow and steady expansion that followed the Big Bang shows that ending inflation does not mean that all growth must stop, even though many people trying to save the planet assume so. Inflation transformed to expansion can go on for billions of years. Human life can continue to be enhanced as long as our creativity in restoring the Earth stays ahead of our material growth. 【题目】 3 Which of the following best summarizes the author s main argument? ［Ａ］ The theory of Cosmic Inflation and Big Bang combine to explain clearly how the world begins. ［B］ Scientific cosmology influences functional cosmology which guides human civilization. ［C］ Resource consumption should slow down to a modest growth rate just as the universe expands. ［D］ More studies should be made since we still don’t know the Big Bang clearly and completely. Passage 4 Obesity (fatness) is defined as body weight of 15 percent or more above the ideal for one s height and age. By this criterion, about one third of the adult population of the United States is obese, and the percentage is growing. The rates of obesity vary in different races, cultures, subcultures, and social classes. In industrialized countries, fatness tends to be inversely correlated with socioeconomic status; that is, people in lower social classes tend to be more obese. In economically backward nations, the direction of the correlation is reversed: the richer, the fatter, at least for women. The situation in the underdeveloped world probably approximates the state of affairs through most of human evolution. Particularly for women, whose pregnancies could extend into times of scarcity, larger internal food reserves were adapted in the face of variable external reserves. Although obesity may sound like an objective phenomenon, it is to some degree culturally relative. In a study done by Rand in 2001, when the researchers in the study asked subjects if they had a weight problem, they found that white women worried about their weight even when they were under their ideal body weight, whereas the other groups did not. A study of black and white undergraduates yielded complementary results. Even though black, and especially black females, were heavier than whites, they were more satisfied with their weight and less likely to find weight on other people (particularly women) unattractive. Men were more concerned about

the weight of their dates than women were, but black men were less likely to refuse to date awoman because of her weight.Contemporary North American culture is preoccupied with thinness,particularly for women. Compared to the Rubenesque view of beauty of just a few centuries ago,expressed in the art and culture of that period, the prototypes of feminine beauty portrayed in themass media today look emaciated, that is, extremely thin, The standards have even changedconsiderably since the1950s,whentheprototypewasthe voluptuous（肉感的）beautyofMarilynMonroe,with large breasts and slightly protruding（突出的）abdomen.A study of Playboycenterfolds and Miss America Pageant contestants found a ten percent decrease in the ratio ofweight to height in both groups from the late 1950s to the late 1970s, paralleled by a dramaticincrease in the number of articles on dieting in popular womens magazines. In contrast tocontemporary Western societies, some other cultures associate beauty with bulk This associationmost often occurs in societies in which food is scarce, where women who are healthy and havemore resourcestendtobe heavier andhenceare seen asmoreattractive【题目】4. The author writes this article to.[A］ show how serious the obesity problem is inAmerica[B] analyze the factors which relate to obesity[C] show the different attitudes people have towards obesity[D] advocate a change in the standard of feminine beauty1.D3. B 4.B2.A4

4 the weight of their dates than women were, but black men were less likely to refuse to date a woman because of her weight.Contemporary North American culture is preoccupied with thinness, particularly for women. Compared to the Rubenesque view of beauty of just a few centuries ago, expressed in the art and culture of that period, the prototypes of feminine beauty portrayed in the mass media today look emaciated, that is, extremely thin. The standards have even changed considerably since the 1950s, when the prototype was the voluptuous (肉感的) beauty of Marilyn Monroe, with large breasts and slightly protruding (突出的) abdomen. A study of Playboy centerfolds and Miss America Pageant contestants found a ten percent decrease in the ratio of weight to height in both groups from the late 1950s to the late 1970s, paralleled by a dramatic increase in the number of articles on dieting in popular women s magazines. In contrast to contemporary Western societies, some other cultures associate beauty with bulk. This association most often occurs in societies in which food is scarce, where women who are healthy and have more resources tend to be heavier and hence are seen as more attractive. 【题目】 4. The author writes this article to . ［Ａ］ show how serious the obesity problem is in America ［B］ analyze the factors which relate to obesity ［C］ show the different attitudes people have towards obesity ［D］ advocate a change in the standard of feminine beauty 1.D 2. A 3. B 4.B