湖州师范学院2011届学位英语考试试卷四
Part I  Reading Comprehension (40%)
Section A：  Fast Reading 
Directions: In this part, you will be asked to go over the passage quickly and then mark Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with information given in the passage; N (for NO) if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage for the questions given below.
    Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States, may be less famous than George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, but most people remember at last one fact about him: he wrote the Declaration of Independence.
    Although Jefferson lived more than 200 years ago, there is much that we learn from him today. Here are some of the things he said and wrote:
    Go and see. Jefferson believed that a free man obtains knowledge from many sources besides books and that personal investigation is important. When still a young man, he was appointed to a committee to find out whether the South Branch of the James River was deep enough to be used by large boats. While the other members of the committee sat in the state capitol and studied papers on the subject, Jefferson got into a canoe and made on-the-spot-observations.
You can learn from everyone. By birth and by education Jefferson belonged to the highest social class. Yet, in a day when few noble persons ever spoke to those of humble origins except to give an order, Jefferson went out of his way to talk with gardeners, servants, and waiters.
Judge for yourself. Jefferson refused to accept other people's opinions without careful thought. “Neither believe nor reject anything,” he wrote to his nephew, “because any other person has rejected or believed it. Heaved has given you a mind for judging truth and error. Use it.” Jefferson felt that the people “may safely be trusted to hear everything true and false, and to form a correct judgment.”
  Do what you believe is right. In a free country there will always be conflicting ideas, and this is a source of strength. It is conflict and not unquestioning agreement that keeps freedom alive. Though Jefferson was for many years the object of strong criticism, he never answered his critics. He expressed his philosophy in letters to a friend, "There are two sides to every question. If you take one side with decision and on it with effect, those who take the other side will of course resent your actions."
Trust the future; trust the young. Jefferson felt that the present should never be chained to customs which have lost their usefulness. "No society," he said, "can make a perpetual constitution, or even a perpetual law. The earth belongs to the living generation." He did not fear new ideas, nor did he fear the future. "How much pain," he remarked, "has been caused by evils which have never happened! I expect the best, not the worst. I steer my ship with hope, leaving fear behind."
  Jefferson's courage and idealism were based on knowledge. He probably knew more than any other man of his age.
Of all Jefferson's many talents, one is central. He was above all a good and tireless writer. His complete works, now being published for the first time, will fill more than fifty volumes. His talent as an author was soon discovered, and when the time came to write the Declaration of Independence at Philadelphia in 1776, the task of writing it was his. Millions have thrilled to his words: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…"
1. Thomas Jefferson is no more famous than George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, but he was mostly remembered as the writer of the Declaration of Independence. ( N  )
2. It was Jefferson who helped Lafayette to get a better understanding of the French people and the oncoming revolution. (  NG )
3. Only after careful consideration was Jefferson willing to accept other people’s opinions. ( Y  )
4. Jefferson was, for many years, the target of strong criticism and he battled against it with his own unique philosophy. (  N )
5. Jefferson felt that the present should never be chained to customs because they had all lost their usefulness. (  Y )
Section B: Reading in Depth
Directions: There are 3 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D).
Passage one
Life really should be one long journey of joy for children who are born with a world of wealth at their tiny feet. But experts on psychological research now believe that silver spoons can leave a bitter taste. If suicide statistics are a sign of happiness, then the rich are a miserable lot. Figures show that it is the rich who most often do away with themselves.
Dr. Robert Coles, an internationally famous doctor, is the world’s top expert on the influence of money on children. He has written a well-received book on the subject, The Pri
vileged（享有特权的） Ones, and his research shows that too much money in the family can cause as many problems as too little. “Obviously there are certain advantages to being rich,” says the 53-year-old doctor, ‘such as better health, education and future work expectation. But most important is the quality of family life. Money can’t buy love.”
>reaction to a book or an article

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