4.阅读理解

第二篇
I'm Sorry, I Won't Apologize
Almost daily, news reports include accounts of public figures or heads of companies being forced to say they're sorry. In a recent case, Marge Schott, managing partner of the Cincinnati Reds, at first did not want to apologize for her remark that Hitler "was good at the beginning but he just went too far. "Under pressure, she finally said that she regretted her remarks "offended many people". Predictably — and especially given her history with such comments — many were not satisfied with this response and successfully lobbied for her resignation.
This particular use of "I'm sorry" has a familiar ring. The other day my husband said to me, "I'm sorry I hurt your feelings." I knew he was really trying. He has learned, through our years together, that apologies are important to me. But he was grinning, because he also knew that "I'm sorry I hurt your feelings" left open the possibility — indeed, strongly suggested — that he regretted not what he did but my emotional reaction. It sometimes seems that he thinks the earth will open up and swallow him if he admits fault.
It may appear that insisting someone admit fault is like wanting him to humiliate himself. But I don't see it that way, since it's no big deal for me to say I made a mistake and apologize. The problem is that it becomes a big deal when he won't.
This turns out to be similar to the Japanese view. Following a fender bender, according to a Times article, the Japanese typically get out of their cars and bow, each claiming responsibility. In contrast, Americans are instructed by their insurance companies to avoid admitting fault. When an American living in Japan did just that — even though he knew he was to blame — the Japanese driver "was so incensed by the American's failure to show contrition that he took the highly unusual step of suing him."
The Japanese driver and I are not the only ones who are offended when someone obviously at fault doesn't just fess up and apologize. A woman who lives in the country told me of a similar reaction. One day she gave her husband something to mail when he went into town. She stressed that it was essential the letter be mailed that day, and he assured her it would. But the next day, when they left the house together, she found her unmailed letter in the car. He said, "Oh, I forgot to mail your letter." She was furious — not because he had forgotten, but because he didn't apologize.
36. What was Marge Schott forced to do?
A） To make a prediction of the future.
B） To say "Hitler was good at the beginning."
C） To say "Im sorry."
D） To count figures.
37. The author felt _____ .
A） her husband regretted the choice he had made
B） her husband regretted what he did
C） her husband regretted her emotional response
D） her husband regretted the dirty words he had used
38. According to the author, when one makes a mistake, he should _____ .
A） admit it and apologize
B） avoid admitting it
C） wxplain it away
D） make every effort to maintain his face
39. According to the passage, what would Japanese drivers usually do after a car accident?
A） They would admit their own faults.
B） They would blame each other.
C） They would avoid admitting faults
D） They would sue each other.
40. What was the woman angry about?
A） Her husband's failure to apologize.
B） Her husband's failure to mail the letter.
C） Her husband's failure to go into town.
D） Her husband's failure to leave the house together with her.

5.阅读理解

第三篇

Taxi Riding
In a moment of personal crisis, how much help can you expect from a New York taxi driver? I began studying this question after watching the "Taxicab Confessions," a series of documentaries in which hidden cameras record the secrets of unsuspecting taxi riders. I found the results varied.
One morning I got into three different taxis and announced: "Well, it's my first day back in New York in seven years. I've been in prison." Not a single driver replied, so I tried again. "Yeah, I shot a man in Reno," I explained, hoping the driver would ask me why, so I could say casually, "Just to watch him die." But nobody asked. The only response came from a Ghanaian driver: "Reno? That is in Nevada?"
Taxi drivers were uniformly sympathetic when I said I'd just been fired. "This is America," a Haitian driver said. "One door is closed. Another is open." He argued against my plan to burn down my bosss house: "If you do something silly and they put you away, you cannot look for another job." A Pakistani driver even turned down a chance to profit from my loss of hope: he refused to take me to the middle of the George Washington Bridge, a $20 trip. "Why you want to go there? Go home and relax. Don't worry. Take a new job."
One very hot weekday in July, while wearing a red ski mask and holding a stuffed pillowcase with the work "BANK" on it, I tried hailing a taxi five times outside different banks. The driver picked me up every time. My ride with Guy-Caaude Thevenain, a Haitian driver, was typical of the superb assistance I received.
"Is anyone following us?"
"No," said the driver, looking in his rearview mirror at traffic and me.
"Lets go across the park," I said. "I just robbed the bank there. I got $25,000."
"$25,000?" he asked.
"Yeah, you think it was wrong to take it?"
"No, man, I work 8 hours and I don't make almost $70. If I can do that, I do it too."
As we approached 86th and Lexington, I pointed to the Chemical Bank.
"Hey, there's another bank," I said, "could you wait here a minute while I go inside?"
"No, I can't wait. Pay me now." His reluctance may have had something to do with money — taxi drivers think the rate for waiting time is too low — but I think he wanted me to learn that even a bank robber can't expect unconditional support.
41. From the Ghanaian drivers response, we can infer that ______ .
A） he was indifferent to the killing
B） he was afraid of the author
C） he looked down upon the author
D） he thought the author was crazy
42. Why did the Pakistani driver refuse to take the author to the middle of the George Washington Bridge?
A） Because he didn't want to help the author get over his career crisis.
B） Because he wanted to go home and relax.
C） Because it was far away from his home.
D） Because he suspected that the author was going to commit suicide.
43. What is author's interpretation of the drivers reluctance "to wait outside the Chemical bank"?
A） The driver thought that the rate for waiting time was too low.
B） The driver thought it wrong to support a taxi rider unconditionally.
C） The driver was frightened and wanted to leave him as soon as possible.
D） The driver wanted to go home and relax.
44. Which of the following statements is true about New York taxi drivers?
A） They are ready to help you do whatever you want to.
B） They refuse to pick up those who would kill themselves.
C） They are sympathetic with those who are out of work.
D） They work only for money.
45. What does the passage mainly discuss?
A） How to make taxi riders comfortable.
B） How to deal with taxi riders.
C） The attitudes of taxi drivers towards the taxi riders having personal crises.
D） The attitudes of taxi drivers towards violent criminals