阅读模拟

　　SAT阅读练习题:Reading Comprehension Test 5

　　10 minutes - 8 questions

　　The passage is taken from 'The Rule of the Road', an essay written by a twentieth century essayist.

　　A stout old lady was walking with her basket down the middle of a

　　street in Petrograd to the great confusion of the traffic and with no

　　small peril to herself. It was pointed out to her that the

　　pavement was the place for pedestrians, but she replied: 'I'm going

　　5 to walk where I like. We've got liberty now.' It did not occur

　　to the dear old lady that if liberty entitled the pedestrian to

　　walk down the middle of the road, then the end of such liberty

　　would be universal chaos. Everybody would be getting in

　　everybody else's way and nobody would get anywhere.

　　10 Individual liberty would have become social anarchy.

　　There is a danger of the world getting liberty-drunk in

　　these days like the old lady with the basket, and it is just as well

　　to remind ourselves of what the rule of the road means. It means

　　that in order that the liberties of all may be preserved, the

　　15 liberties of everybody must be curtailed. When the policeman,

　　say, at Piccadilly Circus steps into the middle of the road and

　　puts out his hand, he is the symbol not of tyranny, but of liberty.

　　You may not think so. You may, being in a hurry, and seeing

　　your car pulled up by this insolence of office, feel that your

　　20 liberty has been outraged. How dare this fellow interfere with

　　your free use of the public highway? Then, if you are a

　　reasonable person, you will reflect that if he did not interfere with

　　you, he would interfere with no one, and the result would be that

　　Piccadilly Circus would be a maelstrom that you would never

　　25 cross at all. You have submitted to a curtailment of private liberty

　　in order that you may enjoy a social order which makes your

　　liberty a reality.

　　Liberty is not a personal affair only, but a social

　　contract. It is an accommodation of interests. In matters which do

　　30 not touch anybody else's liberty, of course, I may be as free as I

　　like. If I choose to go down the road in a dressing-gown who

　　shall say me nay? You have liberty to laugh at me, but I have

　　liberty to be indifferent to you. And if I have a fancy for dyeing

　　my hair, or waxing my moustache (which heaven forbid), or

　　35 wearing an overcoat and sandals, or going to bed late or getting

　　up early, I shall follow my fancy and ask no man's permission. I

　　shall not inquire of you whether I may eat mustard with my

　　mutton. And you will not ask me whether you may follow this

　　religion or that, whether you may prefer Ella Wheeler Wilcox to

　　40 Wordsworth, or champagne to shandy.

　　In all these and a thousand other details you and I please

　　ourselves and ask no one's leave. We have a whole kingdom in

　　which we rule alone, can do what we choose, be wise or

　　ridiculous, harsh or easy, conventional or odd. But directly we

　　45 step out of that kingdom, our personal liberty of action becomes

　　qualified by other people's liberty. I might like to practice on the

　　trombone from midnight till three in the morning. If I went on to

　　the top of Everest to do it, I could please myself, but if I do it in

　　my bedroom my family will object, and if I do it out in the streets

　　50 the neighbors will remind me that my liberty to blow the

　　trombone must not interfere with their liberty to sleep in quiet.

　　There are a lot of people in the world, and I have to

　　accommodate my liberty to their liberties.

　　We are all liable to forget this, and unfortunately we are much

　　55 more conscious of the imperfections of others in this respect than

　　of our own. A reasonable consideration for the rights or feelings

　　of others is the foundation of social conduct.

　　It is in the small matters of conduct, in the observance of

　　the rule of the road, that we pass judgment upon ourselves, and

　　60 declare that we are civilized or uncivilized. The great moments of

　　heroism and sacrifice are rare. It is the little habits of

　　commonplace intercourse that make up the great sum of life and

　　sweeten or make bitter the journey.

阅读理解第二页

　　1. The author might have stated his ‘rule of the road’ as

　　A. do not walk in the middle of the road

　　B. follow the orders of policemen

　　C. do not behave inconsiderately in public

　　D. do what you like in private

　　E. liberty is more important than anarchy

　　2. The author’s attitude to the old lady in paragraph one is

　　A. condescending

　　B. intolerant

　　C. objective

　　D. sardonic

　　E. supportive

　　3. The sentence ‘It means....curtailed’ (lines 13-15) is an example of

　　A. hyperbole

　　B. cliché

　　C. simile

　　D. paradox

　　E. consonance

　　4. Which sentence best sums up the author’s main point? sat

　　A. There is a danger....lines 11-13

　　B. A reasonable.... lines 56-57

　　C. It is in the small matters....lines 58-60

　　D. The great moments....lines 60-61

　　E. It is the little....lines 61-63

　　5. A situation analogous to the ‘insolence of office’ described in paragraph 2 would be

　　A. a teacher correcting grammar errors

　　B. an editor shortening the text of an article

　　C. a tax inspector demanding to see someone’s accounts

　　D. an army office giving orders to a soldier

　　E. a gaoler locking up a prisoner

　　6. ‘Qualified’ (line 46) most nearly means

　　A. accredited

　　B. improved

　　C. limited

　　D. stymied

　　E. educated

　　7. The author assumes that he may be as free as he likes in

　　A. all matters of dress and food

　　B. any situation which does not interfere with the liberty of others

　　C. anything that is not against the law

　　D. his own home

　　E. public places as long as no one sees him

　　8. In the sentence ‘ We are all liable....’ (lines 54-56) the author is

　　A. pointing out a general weakness

　　B. emphasizing his main point

　　C. countering a general misconception

　　D. suggesting a remedy

　　E. modifying his point of view

　　SAT阅读参考答案与详细解答在下一页

答案及解析

　　SAT阅读:Reading Comprehension Test3 参考答案

　　1.Correct Answer: C

　　Explanation:

　　The author is using the ‘rule of the road’ as a metaphor for social conduct. The whole extract is telling us to behave considerately toward others. Hence, answer C.

　　2.Correct Answer: A

　　Explanation:

　　The author refers to the old lady as ‘the dear old lady’, and yet he is disapproving of her behavior. He is assuming a tone of superiority and hence is best described as ‘condescending’. (Sardonic is mocking, or scornful, and is too strong for this case. Intolerant is not quite right because he is more pointing out the fault in her attitude than showing a lack of tolerance for her as a person.) sat

　　3.Correct Answer: D

　　Explanation:

　　The sentence, "It means that in order that the liberties of all may be preserved, the liberties of everybody must be curtailed," is an example of a paradox - an apparently contradictory statement. (Hyperbole is gross exaggeration; cliché is overused expression; simile is a comparison; and consonance is words with similar sounds.)

　　4.Correct Answer: B

　　Explanation:

　　The author’s main point is the need to behave with consideration...this is best covered by his statement in lines 56-57, "A reasonable consideration for the rights or feelings of others is the foundation of social conduct."

　　5.Correct Answer: C

　　Explanation:

　　The insolence of office is a situation in which an official who is doing his duty stops us and questions our behavior. It also has to be something that we at first resent, but then have to admit is socially necessary. This is best conveyed by answer C.

　　6.Correct Answer: C

　　Explanation:

　　To check a word meaning, go back to the sentence and insert another word of your own. In this case, replace the word ‘qualified’ - "But directly we step out of that kingdom, our personal liberty of action becomes qualified by other people's liberty." A word like ‘limited’ will fit best.

　　7.Correct Answer: B

　　Explanation:

　　The author gives numerous examples of things he can do with total freedom (lines 31-40). But he makes it clear that any activity that interferes with someone else’s liberty should not be permitted (lines 44-54).

　　8.Correct Answer: A

　　Explanation:

　　The author comments that, "We are all liable to forget this, and unfortunately we are much more conscious of the imperfections of others in this respect than of our own." In this he is pointing out that we are all likely to have this fault - hence answer A.