【CET-6阅读】Practice 10

Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them, you should decide on the best choice from the four choices marked A),B),C),and D).

Passage One

Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.

It was a cold, rainy and wholly miserable afternoon in Washington, and a hot muggy night in Miami. It was Sunday, and three games were played in the two cities. The people playing them and the people watching them tell us much about the ever-changing ethnic structure of the United States.Professional football in the United States is almost wholly played by native-born American citizens, mostly very large and very strong, many of them black. It is a game of physical strength. Linemen routinely weigh more than 300 pounds. Players are valued for their weight and muscles, for how fast they can run, and how hard they can hit each other. Football draws the biggest crowds, but the teams play only once a week, because they get so battered.The 67,204 fans were in Miami for the final game of the baseball World Series. Baseball was once America’s favourite game, but has lost that claim to basketball. Baseball is a game that requires strength, but not hugeness. Agility, quickness, perfect vision and quick reaction are more important than pure strength. Baseball was once a purely American game, but has spread around much of the New World. In that Sunday’s final, the final hit of the extra inning game was delivered by a native of Columbia. The Most Valuable Player in the game was a native of Cuba. The rosters of both teams were awash with Hispanic names, as is Miami, which now claims the World Championship is a game that may be losing popularity in America, but has gained it in much of the rest of the world. Baseball in America has taken on a strong Hispanic flavor, with a dash of Japanese added for seasoning.Soccer, which many countries just call football, is the most widely enjoyed sport in the world, In soccer, the ethnic tide has been the reverse of baseball’s. Until recently, professional soccer in the United States have largely been an import, played by South Americans and Europeans. Now, American citizens in large numbers are finally taking up the most popular game in the world. Basketball, an American invention increasingly played around the world, these days draws large crowds back home. Likewise, hockey, a game largely imported to the United States from neighbouring Canada. Lacrosse, a version of which was played by Native Americans before the Europeans arrived, is also gaining a keen national following. Sports of all kinds are winning support from American armchair enthusiasts from a variety of ethnic backgrounds.21. Which of the following can reflect the ever-changing ethnic structure of America?A) Sportsman. B) Audience.C) Both of them. D) None of them.22. Who play professional football in the United States?A) Native-born American citizens.B) Europeans.C) South Americans.D) Both B and C.23. What is America’s favourite game?A) Baseball. B) Basketball.C) Professional football. D) Soccer.24. Which of the following statements about soccer is true?A) In soccer and basketball, the ethnic tide is different.B) Until recently, soccer becomes an important game, so many native Americans play it.C) It is the most popular game in the world, so many American citizens take up it.D) Although soccer is the most popular game in the world, American citizens in large numbers do not like it first.25. The author of the passage wants to tell that ____.A) Americans like sports and sports reveal much about the changing ethnic structure of the United StatesB) in Washington, several games are played in one dayC) Americans like all kinds of gamesD) the American games are watched by native-Americans and played by people from different countries

Passage Two

Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.

The entrepreneur, according to French economist J.B. Say, “is a person who shifts economic resources out of an area of lower and into an area of higher productivity and yield.” But Say’s definition does not tell us who this entrepreneur is. Some define the entrepreneur simply as one who starts his or her own new and small business. For our purposes, we will define the entrepreneur as a person who takes the necessary risks to organize and manage a business and receives the financial profits and nonmonetary rewards.

The man who opens a small pizza restaurant is in business, but is he an entrepreneur? He took a risk and did something, but did he shift resources or start the business? If the answer is yes, then he is considered an entrepreneur. Ray Kroc is an example of an entrepreneur because he founded and established McDonald’s. His hamburgers were not a new idea, but he applied new techniques, resource allocations, and organizational methods in his venture. Ray Kroc upgraded the productivity and yield from the resources applied to create his fast-food chain. This is what entrepreneurs do; this is what entrepreneurship means.

Many of the sharp, black-and-white contrasts between the entrepreneur and the professional have faced to a gray color. Formerly, professionals such as doctors, lawyers, dentists, and accountants were not supposed to be entrepreneurial, aggressive, or market oriented. They were “above” the market-driven world. Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, were the mavericks of society. They were risk-takers who aggressively sought to make something happen. Long hours were about all the two worlds had in common. However, increased competition, saturated markets, and a more price-conscious public have changed the world of the professionals. Today they need to market their skills, talents, and competencies; Lawyers advertise their services. Doctors specialize in one form of surgery. Accounting firms join with other businesses (e.g., consulting and law) to serve clients.

Entrepreneurs exhibit many different behaviors; searching for a specific personality pattern is very difficult. Some entrepreneurs are quiet, introverted, and analytical. On the other hand, some are brash, extroverted, and very emotional, many of them share some qualities. Viewing change as the norm, entrepreneurs usually search for it, respond to it, and treat it as an opportunity. An entrepreneur such as Ray Kroc of McDonald’s is able to take resources and shift them to meet a need. Making the decision to shift resources works better if a person is creative, experienced, and confident.

26.According to the first paragraph, who can be regarded as an entrepreneur?

A) The CEO of a big company.

B) The owner of a profitable restaurant.

C) A man who started a new kind of business but eventually failed after 5 years because of some financial problems.

D) A successful salesman.

27.Which of the followings are necessary for an entrepreneur?

①a resource shifter ②one who starts a new business

③non-professional ④money-gaining ⑤a risk taker

A) ①②③ B) ①②④⑤ C) ①②⑤ D) ①②③④⑤

28.From the text, we learn that ____ .

A) an entrepreneur should be very extroverted

B) an entrepreneur should be quick to seize opportunities

C) change is not norm in an entrepreneur’s eyes

D) the French economist J.B. Say is the first person who gave the definition of “entrepreneur”

29.The purpose of the author in writing the passage is to ____ .

A) complete the definition of entrepreneur

B) tell the readers what is entrepreneur and the main characteristics of entrepreneurs

C) show what kind of people can become entrepreneurs

D) illustrate why Ray Kroc can become an entrepreneur

30.What will most possibly follow the text?

A) An example of how an entrepreneur operates.

B) Another theory about entrepreneurship.

C) The bad effects of entrepreneurs.

D) The good effects of entrepreneurs.

Passage A

短文大意: 美国人喜欢体育运动，运动员和观众都能使我们了解许多有关美国总在不断变化的种族结构。从事美式职业足球运动员几乎都是土生土长的美国人，通常身高体壮，多数为黑人。棒球曾是美国最受欢迎的运动项目，现在已经让位于篮球。棒球曾是纯美国运动，后来传向周围地区。英式足球中的种族变化趋势与棒球相反，直到最近，美国的职业足球队员大部分来自国外，由南美人和欧洲人来踢。现在从事篮球这种美国人发明的运动的人越来越多，它吸引了大批的观众。在美国，各种运动都有广泛的支持。

21. 答案为C)。本题是一道细节题。文章第一段最后一句话：The people playing them and the people watching them tell us much about the ever-changing ethnic structure of the United States.(运动员们和观众们都能使我们了解很多有关美国总在不断变化的种族结构)。A项和B项不全面，而D项不正确，故均被排除。

22. 答案为A)。本题是细节理解题。文章第二段第一句话：Professional football in the United States is almost wholly played by nativeborn American citizens, mostly very large and very strong, many of them black.(从事美式职业足球运动员几乎都是土生土长的美国人，通常身高体壮，多数为黑人)。B项欧洲人和C项南美人踢的则是职业英式足球，因此B项、C项和D项均不正确，A项“土生土长的美国人”为正确答案。

23. 答案为B)。本题是句意理解题。文章第三段第二句话清楚说明了Baseball was once America’s favourite game, but has lost that claim to basketball.(棒球曾是美国最受欢迎的运动项目，但现已让位于篮球。)C项未提及，D项英式足球是世界上最受欢迎的体育项目，而非美国人，因此B项“篮球”是正确答案。

24. 答案为D)。本题是道判断正误的题目。文章第五段中所述In soccer, ... , the ethnic tide has been the reverse of baseball’s.(在英式足球中，……，种族的变化趋势与棒球截然相反。)故A项不正确。在同一段介绍：Until recently, professional soccer in the United States had largely been an import, played by South Americans and Europeans.(直到最近，美国的职业英式足球队员大部分来自国外，由南美人和欧洲人来踢)。故B项不正确。大量的美国人开始从事英式足球的运动是如今的事，因此C项的陈述不准确，而只有D项“尽管英式足球是世界上最受欢迎的运动，但是很多美国人并不第一喜欢它”与原文相符。

25. 答案为A)。本题是道有关作者写作意图的题目。文章第一段最后一句话就已点明了美国人喜爱体育运动，同时运动员和观众都能使我们了解很多有关美国总在不断变化的种族结构。C项美国人喜欢各种运动不够全面，而B和D两项与文章的内容不太相符，陈述不准确。因此只有A项为最佳选项。

Passage B

短文大意: 本文是一篇关于entrepreneur的科普性文章。文章列举了关于“企业家”的几种定义并以Ray Kroc为例进一步说明什么是“企业家”。最后把专业人士与企业家作了比较并介绍了企业家的主要特征。

26.答案为C)。要想成为一个“entrepreneur”，必须具备三个条件：①他必须能有利于资源的有效配置并使自己有所得；②他必须是一位创业者；③他必须冒风险。对于答案C，有人可能会提出这样的疑问，就是此人没有营利，但事实上他并不是没有营利，只是在长期的经营过程中出现了财务问题。他的创业是成功的。

27.答案为C）。理由同上一题所提到的三个条件。

28. 答案为B)。文中第四段提到“entrepreneurs exhibit many different behaviors,” “Some qualities many of them share. Viewing change as the norm”,所以一个“entrepreneur”，并不一定要是“extroverted”，也不能认为“change is not norm”，而是要抓住机遇。所以，A、C错，B对。至于D，文中并没有说J.B.Say是给entrepreneur定义的第一人，因此D也错误。

29. 答案为B)。此题迷惑性很强，可以说A、B、C、D都不错。但本文从文体来看，是一篇介绍什么是entrepreneur的科普性文章。开始说J.B.Say的定义只是文章的一个引子，并不是作者的写作意图；谈到Ray Kroc只是举了一个成功的例子；而怎样才能成为一个创业者，更是需要有心的读者自己去学习了。最能表达作者写作意图的还是B。

30. 答案为A)。文章最后说：“Making the decision to shift resources works better if a person is creative, experienced, and confident.”但并没有例子证明，怎样使用其创造力、经验和信心，所以A最合适，而B、C、D都没有什么明显的标志表明会被讲到。

资料来源：新大学英语四、六级考点透视丛书：六级阅读/李华田主编，武汉大学出版社，2006