大学英语四级阅读模拟训练附答案

　　Although a strong pound and weak markets in Asia play a role in the downsizing, the layoffs in Stokehave their roots in earthshaking social shifts. A spokesman for Royal Doulton admitted that thecompany “has been somewhat slow in catching up with the trend”toward casual dining. Families eattogether less often, he explained, and more people eat alone, either because they are single or theyeat in front of television.

　　Even dinner parties, if they happen at all, have gone causal. In a time of long work hours anddemanding family schedules, busy hosts insist, rightly, that it’s better to share a takeout pizza onpaper plates inthe family room than to wait for the perfect moment or a “real” dinner party. Toooften, the perfect moment never comes, Iron a fine-pattened tablecloth? Forget it. Polish thesilver? Who has time?

　　Yet the loss of formality has its down side. The fine points of etiquette(礼节) that children mightonce have learned at the table by observation or instruction from parents andgrandparents(“Chew with your mouth closed.”“keep your elbows off the table.”)must be picked upelsewhere. Some companies now offer etiquette seminars for employees who may be competentprofessionally but clueless socially.

　　练习题：

　　Choose correct answers to the question:

　　1.The trend toward casual dining has resulted in ______

　　A. bankruptcy of fine china manufacturers

　　B. Shrinking of the pottery industry

　　C. restructuring of large enterprises

　　D. Economic recession in Great Britain

　　2.Which of the following may be the best reason for casual dining?

　　A. Family members need more time to relax.

　　B. Busy schedules leave people no time for formality.

　　C. People want to practice economy in times of scarcity.

　　D. Young people won’t follow the etiquette of the older generation.

　　3.It can be learned from the passage that Royal Doulton is _______

　　A. a retailer of stainless steel tableware

　　B. a dealer in stoneware

　　C. a pottery chain store

　　D. a producer of fine china

　　4.The main cause of the layoffs in the pottery industry is _______

　　A. the increased value of the pound

　　B. the economic recession in Asia

　　C. the change in people’s way of life

　　D. the fierce competition at home and abroad

　　5.Refined table manners, though less popular than before in current social life, _______

　　A. are still a must on certain occasions

　　B. are bound to return sooner or later

　　C. are still being taught by parents at home

　　D. Can help improve personal relationships

　　1.[B] 推理判断题。首先依据题目中的casual dining找到第2段中的informality。其后有两个for引导的介词短语，后一个说“对于英国精致瓷器的制造商来说，这(informality)意味着经济困难时期”;此外,第3段用数据具体指出陶瓷业裁员之严重，说明陶瓷业在萎缩，即B。A、D均属夸大事实，C与文章内容无关。

　　2.[B] 事实细节题。根据倒数第2段第2句中指出现今休闲文化流行的背景：工作时间长，家庭生活节奏紧张,B中的 Busy schedules与文中的demanding family schedules对应，故为答案。

　　3.[D] 事实细节题。Royal Doulton在文章中出现过两次：第3段说它裁员，因为人们用餐越来越随意(不再讲究餐具的精致);第 4 段中“A spokesman for Royal Doulton admitted that the company...”，暗示公司的性质，可以推断它是精制器皿的生产者。

　　4.[C] 事实细节题。根据题目中的the layoffs找到文章第4段首句，其中的have their roots in相当于题目中的main cause is,shifts相当于C中的change。其实本题与第1题是交叉相关的，从第1题的题目可找到本题的答案。

　　5.[A] 事实细节题。根据最后一段，特别是第2句“The fine points of etiquette... must be picked upelsewhere良好的餐桌礼仪必须在其他地方被重拾起来”，可知礼仪在某些场合还是必要的，故答案为A。