2018年公共英语五级试题之阅读理解六

　　For most of us today, television is our main source of news. According to a questionnaire on the way of getting news ,nearly 72 percent of the people watch TV, and only 12 percent read newspapers for daily news. Although television news excels in bringing into our living room dramatic events of singular importance, space craft launchings, natural disasters, record-breaking sports events, presidential inaugurations, wars, murders and so on, it cannot cover important stories in the depth they may deserve because of its time limitations. Regardless of the complexity or significance of an event, it some how must be fitted into a prescribed number of minutes. On the other hand, while the newspaper cannot compete with television visually, for example, a war is often best communicated by pictures, not words, it may beat its rival with amore in-depth version of the event. Free of time restrictions imposed on television news, a newspaper can devote as much space to a story as it sees fit, and flesh it out with more vivid details.

　　Furthermore, television by nature is a passive medium, for it deprives viewers of the freedom of selection. Whether you like or dislike a particular piece of news, all you have to do is sit in front of the tube and let it happen and follow its space passively. But by reading newspapers, you can select the most interesting news, and skip what you think is irrelevant and dull; you can read in detail or briefly. Besides, watching television involves little mental activity. A constant diet of television journalism contributes to the rise in new illiteracy ,and the decline in general intellectual skills such as reading and writing. In contrast to television news, the print media encourage active involvement in what’s being reported. The readers have to make greater efforts than TV viewers to follow and absorb the stories. But they acquire more than information and news. Reading requires high level of mental involvement, which, in turn, improves our intellectual competence. When we consider television versus print journalism on the basis of format, coverage and nature, is there any question as to which is the better source of news?

　　“Down-to-earth”means someone or something that is honest.realistic and easy to deal with.It is a pleasure to find(31)___who is down-to-earth.A person who is down—to-earth is easy to talk(32) ___and accepts other people as equals.A down-to-earth person is just the(33) ___of someone who acts important or proud.

　　Down-to-earth persons may be(34)___members of society,of course.But they do not let their importance“(35)___to their heads”.They do not consider themselves to be better persons than(36) ___of less importance.Someone who is filled with his own importance and pride，(37) ___without cause，is said to have“his nose in the air”.There is(38) way a person with his nose in the air can be down-to-earth.

　　Americans(39) ___ another expression that means almost the same as“down—to-earth”.The expression is“both—feet—on-the—ground”. Someone(40) ___both—feet—on—the-ground is a person with a good understanding(41) ___reality.He has what is called“common sense，”he may have dreams，(42) ___he does not allow them to block his knowledge of(43) ___is real.

　　The opposite kind of(44) ___is one who has his“head—in-the—clouds”. A man with his head-in-the—clouds is a dreamer(445) ___mind is not in the real world.

　　(46) ___，such a dreamer can be brought back to earth.Sharp words from teacher can usually(47)___a day-dreaming student down-to-earth.

　　Usually.me person who is down—to-earth is very(48) ___to have both feet on the ground.(49) ___we have both our feet on the ground，when we are down-t0—earth，we act honestly and openly(50) ___others.Our lives are like the ground below us，solid and strong.

　　参考答案及解析

　　31.someone 【解析】由本文的第一句话“‘Down-to-earth’means some—one or something that is honest，realistic and easy to deal with.”可知“Down—to—earth”指的是诚实，现实、平易近人的那些人。这里的someone和后面是相对应的。故答案为someone。

　　32.to【解析】talk to的意思是“和某人聊天”，talk这里不及物动词，后面需要接一个介词。在从句中介词不能省略。作者这里要表达的意思是“和那些诚实的平易近人的人聊天是很惬意的。”故答案为to。

　　33.opposite 【解析】从文章第二段的内容可以看出，A down—to—earth person和那些表面上装的很重要的人物正好相反。所以这里应填“相反的”，故答案为opposite。

　　34.important 【解析】从本句后面的一句话可以看出，A down—to—earth person就算是重要的人物，他们也不会把这种显赫写在脸上。所以前面应填important。故答案为important。

　　35.go 【解析】go to one’s heads的意思是“展现、表现”，俗语。用在文中表示“把…写在脸上”，生怕别人不知道的显摆。故答案为go。

　　36.those 【解析】本句的意思是“他们不认为自己比别的不重要的人更好、更优秀。”这里比较的是down—to—earth persons和别人。故答案为those。

　　37.often 【解析】本句话的意思是“那些自我感觉很了不起、内心充满骄傲的人，总是不需要理由的就被人认为是趾高气扬的人。”故这里答案为often。

　　38.n0 【解析】本句话的意思是“那些趾高气扬的人不可能是那些平易近人的人”。这是否定的意思，故答案为no。

　　39.use 【解析】后面的一句话“The expression is‘both—feet—on—the—ground.’”表示down—to—earth的另一种表达方法是both—feet.on—the— ground。而后一种说法是美国人的用法，常常被美国人使用。故答案为use。

　　40.with 【解析】根据对等关系，这里应该与后面的部分“a person with a good understanding”相对应。意思是“那些脚踏实地的人往往是那些很了解现实的人。”故答案为with。

　　41.of 【解析】“对现实的了解”的英文表达是“the understanding of reality”，这里的介词用of。故答案为of。

　　42.but 【解析】这里表达的前后句意是一种转折关系。前面说“he may have dreams，”而后面“he does not allow them to block his knowledge...”的意思却是“但是他也不会让这些梦想阻挡自己对什么是现实的理解。”故答案为but。

　　43.what 【解析】解析同上。这里是一个名词性从句，what在句中做主语。故答案为what。

　　44.person 【解析】本句话的意思是“与此相反的一类人是那些想入非非的人。”根据上下文的要求这里应该填入man的同义词。故答案为person。

　　45.whose 【解析】这是一个后置定语从句，用whose来引导，表示mind与dreamer的所属系。故答案为whose。

　　46.Sometime【解析】通过对后面句子的分析，我们可以知道那些想人非非、飘飘欲仙的人有朝一日也是可以“双脚落地的”，那就是“sharp words from teacher”，所以这里表示的是“有朝一日”，故答案为sometime。

　　47.bring 【解析】通过前一句话“such a dreamer Can be brought back to earth.”中的brought可以知道，这里应该填bring，表示“把…带到”。故答案为bring。

　　48.1ikely 【解析】前面所说的the person who is down—to—earth与the person whose both feet on the ground大体是一类人，所以这里表达的意思是“很有可能就是一类人”。be likely to do就表达了这种意思。故答案为likely。

　　49.When 【解析】这里的一句话其实与下一半句“when we are down—to—earth，...”所起到的作用是一样的，同时两者也是并列的，when表达了“当…”，所以这里填when。故答案为when。

　　50.toward 【解析】作者要表达的意思是“我怎么才能对别人诚实。”英语中表达“对某人…”一般是用介词toward。故答案为toward。