大学英语(二)A卷

Ⅲ.Reading Comprehension（30 points， 2 points for each item）从下列每篇短文的问题后所给的四个选择项中选出一个最佳答案，并将选项号填在答题表格上。

Passage One Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.

“No man is an island，”wrote the poet John Donne several centuries ago. He was acknowledging one of our most distinctive characteristics：the fact that we are social animals whose behavior and personalities are shaped by the groups to which we belong.

Throughout life，most of our daily activities are performed in the company of others. Whether our purpose is working，playing，raising a family，learning，or simply relaxing，we usually pursue it in groups，even if the group is as small as two or three people. Out need for human contacts is not merely a practical one；it is a deep psychological need as well. If people are deprived of the company of others for prolonged periods，mental breakdown is the usual result. Even the Geneva Convention（日内瓦公约），an international agreement that regulates the treatment of prisoners of war，recognizes this need. It regards solitary（孤独的）imprisonment for more than thirty day as a cruel form of torture（折磨）。

In its strictest sense， a group is a collection of people interacting together in an orderly way on the basis of shared expe ctations about one another‘s behavior. As result of this interaction，members feel a common sense of“belonging.”They distinguish members from nonmembers and expect certain kinds of behavior from outsiders.

21.By“No man is an island，”John Donne means _____.

A.no one can live on an island alone

B.a man is not surrounded by sea on all sides

C.a man and an island are irrelevant

D.no one can live in isolation from other people

22.The fact that we work or even play in groups illustrates the point that ____.

A.poeple are different from animals

B.Donne recognized the group to which he belonged

C.human beings are social animals

D.human behavior and personalities are formed by others

23.“Breakdown”as used in Line 6，Paragraph 2 most probably denotes ____.

A.separation

B.collapse

C.analysis

D.function 24.According to the passage，what is NOT a characteristic of group？

A.There are at least two people in it.

B.The members share some common grounds.

C.The members work for one purpose.

D.The members interact regularly with each other.

25.This passage is mainly about _______.

A.the importance of human contacts

B.pattens of human behavior

C.the importance of human activities

D.patterns of human society

Passage Two Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.

The word health can be used in a number of ways. In the past，health only the absence of disease or illness. Today，though，health has a broader meaning. Health is the state of your well-being that includes how you feel physically，mentally，and socially. Wellness is another term that describes this broader view of health. You can understand the need for a broader definition if you think about how health in your life is different from health in your grandparents‘ lives.

In 1900，the main causes of death were diseases that were spread by bacteria（细菌）and viruses（病毒）。If you had lived then，the danger of your dying from pneumonia （肺炎）would have been three times greater than the danger of your dying from cancer. The diseases that were most common in 1900 affected people of all ages. It is not surprising，then that around 1900，the emphasis of health was on freedom from illness. Today many of the diseases that were common in 1900 can be prevented or cured by improved medicines and methods of sanitation（卫生）。Most diseases now are likely to occur later in life. You as a teenager will probably not have to think about the same threats to your health as your grandparents did.

These improvements in health conditions mean that not only can you now enjoy a better life，but you also have a greater chance of having a longer life. Conrtolling diseases has increased the life expectancy in the United States. Grenerally，people born more recently have higher life expectancie

s. Since 1900，the life expectancy in the United States has increased by more than 27 years. It has increased from 47 years for those born in 1900 to 74 years 1981.