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2019年上半年大學(xué)英語四級(jí)閱讀理解：foster homes
It’s no secret that many children would be healthier and happier with adoptive parents than with the parents that nature dealt them. That’s especially true of children who remain in abusive homes because the law blindly favors biological parents. It’s also true of children who suffer for years in foster homes (收養(yǎng)孩子的家庭) because of parents who can’t or won’t care for them but refuse to give up custody (監(jiān)護(hù))rights.
Fourteen-year-old Kimberly Mays fits neither description, but her recent court victory could eventually help children who do. Kimberly has been the object of an angry custody baffle between the man who raised herand her biological parents, with whom she has never lived. A Florida judge ruled that the teenager can remain with the only father she’s ever known and that her biological parents have "no legal claim" on her.The ruling, though it may yet be reversed, sets aside the principle that biology is the primary determinant of parentage. That’s an important development, one that’s long overdue.
Shortly after birth in December 1978, Kimberly Mays and another infant were mistakenly switched and sent home with the wrong parents. Kimberly’s biological parents, Ernest and Regina Twigg, received a child who died of a heart disease in 1988. Medical tests showed that the child wasn’t the Twiggs’ own daughter, but Kimt only was, thus sparking a custody battle with Robert Mays. In 1989, the two families agreed that Mr.Mays would maintain custody with the Twiggs getting visiting fights. Those rights were ended when Mr. Mays decided that Kimberly was being harmed.
The decision to leave Kimberly with Mr. Mays rendered her suit debated. But the judge made clear that Kimberly did have standing to sue ( 起訴) on her own behalf. Thus he made clear that she was more than just property to be handled as adults saw fit.
Certainly, the biological link between parent and child is fundamental. But biological parents aren’t always preferable to adoptive ones, and biological parentage does not convey an absolute ownership that cancels all the rights of children.
練習(xí)題：
Choose correct answers to the question:
1. What was the primary consideration in the Florida judge’s ruling?
A. The biological link.
B. The child’s benefits.
C.The traditional practice.
D. The parents’ feelings.
2. We can learn from the Kimberly case that
A. children are more than just personal possessions of their parents
B. the biological link between parent and child should be emphasized
C. foster homes bring children more pain and suffering than care
D. biological parents shouldn’t claim custody rights after their child is adopted
3. The Twiggs claimed custody rights to Kimberly because
A. they found her unhappy in Mr. Mays’ custody
B. they regarded her as their property
C. they were her biological parents
D. they felt guilty about their past mistake
4. Kimberly had been given to Mr. Mays
A. by sheer accident
B. out of charity
C. at his request
D. for better care
5. The author’s attitude towards the judge’s ruling could be described as
A. doubtful
B. Critical
C. cautious
D. supportive
1.[B] 推理判斷題。根據(jù)第2段最后一句“女孩被判給她認(rèn)識(shí)的父親，即養(yǎng)父，而非生父”以及全文的最后一句中all the rights of children,可以推斷,該判決是從孩子本身的利益出發(fā)的，故選B而排除A。
2.[A] 事實(shí)細(xì)節(jié)題。根據(jù)倒數(shù)第2段最后一句“金伯莉不僅僅是大人們覺得合適就可以隨意處置的“財(cái)產(chǎn)”可知a與該句相符，其中的personal possessions為原文中property的同義表達(dá)。
3.[C] 事實(shí)細(xì)節(jié)題。第4段第2、3句指出“金伯莉的親生父母，歐內(nèi)斯特和里賈納·特維格，......醫(yī)學(xué)測(cè)試顯示……金伯莉才是他們的孩子，從而引發(fā)了特維格夫婦與羅伯特·梅斯之間的監(jiān)護(hù)權(quán)爭(zhēng)訟案”，由此可知，C與之相符。
4.[A] 事實(shí)細(xì)節(jié)題。第4段第1句提到，金伯莉·梅斯與另一名嬰兒被陰差陽錯(cuò)地調(diào)換了，她們跟著不是自己親生父母的人一起回了家，由此可知A正確。
5.[D] 觀點(diǎn)態(tài)度題。在最后一段作者用But轉(zhuǎn)折句說明自己的觀點(diǎn)，即“但生身父母并不總是比養(yǎng)父母更合適”,可見作者是支持法官將金伯莉判給其養(yǎng)父的。
2019年上半年大學(xué)英語四級(jí)閱讀理解：fairly skeptical
I’m usually fairly skeptical about any research that concludes that people are either happier or unhappier or more or less certain of themselves than they were 50 years ago. While any of these statements might be true, they are practically impossible to prove scientifically. Still, I was struck by a report which concluded that today’s children are significantly more anxious than children in the 1950s. In fact, the analysis showed, normal children ages 9 to 17 exhibit a higher level of anxiety today than children who were treated for mental illness 50 years ago.
Why are America’s kids so stressed? The report cites two main causes: increasing physical isolation—brought on by high divorce rates and less involvement in community, among other things—and a growing perception that the world is a more dangerous place.
Given that we can’t turn the clock back, adults can still do plenty to help the next generation cope.
At the top of the list is nurturing (培育) a better appreciation of the limits of individualism. No child is an island. Strengthening social ties helps build communities and protect individuals against stress.
To help kids build stronger connections with others, you can pull the plug on TVs and computers. Your family will thank you later. They will have more time for face-to-face relationships, and they will get more sleep.
Limit the amount of virtual (虛擬的) violence your children are exposed to. It’s not just video games andmovies; children see a lot of murder and crime on the local news.
Keep your expectations for your children reasonable. Many highly successful people never attended Harvard or Yale.
Make exercise part of your daily routine. It will help you cope with your own anxieties and provide a goodmodel for your kids. Sometimes anxiety is unavoidable. But it doesn’t have to ruin your life.
練習(xí)題：
Choose correct answers to the question:
1.The author thinks that the conclusions of any research about people’s state of mind are ________.
A. surprising
B. confusing
C. illogical
D. questionable
2. What does the author mean when he says, “we can’t turn the clock back” (Line 1, Para. 3)?
A. It’s impossible to slow down the pace of change.
B. The social reality children are facing cannot be changed.
C. Lessons learned from the past should not be forgotten.
D. It’s impossible to forget the past.
3.According to an analysis, compared with normal children today, children treated as mentallyill 50 years ago ________.
A. were less isolated physically
B. were probably less self-centered
C. probably suffered less from anxiety
D. were considered less individualistic
4.The first and most important thing parents should do to help their children is ______
A. to provide them with a safer environment
B. to lower their expectations for them
C. to get them more involved socially
D. to set a good model for them to follow
5.What conclusion can be drawn from the passage?
A. Anxiety, though unavoidable, can be coped with.
B. Children’s anxiety has been enormously exaggerated.
C. Children’s anxiety can be eliminated with more parental care.
D. Anxiety, if properly controlled, may help children become mature.
1.[D] 題目中的people’s state of mind就是本文第1句中either happier or unhappier or more or less certain of themselves。而對(duì)于這種研究，作者開門見山地表明自己的態(tài)度是skeptical懷疑的，因此該研究結(jié)論是questionable “可疑的”，故選D。
2.[B] 第3段說“雖然我們無法使時(shí)光倒流,但是我們成年人還是可以做很多事情來幫助下一代，使他們可以妥善應(yīng)對(duì)”所以，“使時(shí)光倒流”實(shí)質(zhì)上是改變孩子們現(xiàn)在所生活的環(huán)境，正確答案為B。
3.[C] 只要讀懂第1段最后一句的比較結(jié)構(gòu):該分析顯示，現(xiàn)在9到17歲的普通兒童比50年前接受精神病治療的兒童所表現(xiàn)出來的焦慮不安程度還要高,此題答案就一目了然，即選C。
4.[C] 根據(jù)第4段開頭的At the top of the list可知答案可在該段中尋得。由該段最后一句“加強(qiáng)社會(huì)聯(lián)系有助于社區(qū)的建設(shè),也有助于使個(gè)人免受壓力的侵?jǐn)_”可知正確答案為C。
5.[A] 根據(jù)文章最后兩句“有時(shí)候焦慮是難免的,但它并不是非要?dú)У裟愕纳畈豢伞笨芍狝說法與之相符，故選A。