For many people in the U.S., sports are not just for fun. They're almost a religion. Thousands of sports fans buy expensive tickets to watch their favorite teams and athletes play in person. Other fans watch the games at home, glued to their TV sets. America's devotion to athletics has created a new class of wealthy people: professional athletes. Sports stars often receive million-dollar salaries. Some even make big money appearing in advertisements for soft drinks, shoes and even toiletries.
对许多的美国人而言，运动不只是为了好玩。它几乎成了一种宗教崇拜，数以千计的运动迷会为了能亲眼目睹他们喜爱的球队或运动员比赛而出高价购买门票。其它的球迷则守在家里寸步不离地收看电视转播。美国人对于运动的投入形成了一个新的富有阶级：职业运动员。运动明星通常会收到上百万元的薪水。其中有些人甚至是因为替饮料、鞋，甚至个人化妆用品拍广告而赚了一大笔钱。
Many sports were imported from other countries. European immigrants brought tennis, golf, bowling and boxing to America. Football and baseball came from other Old World games. Only basketball has a truly American origin. Even today some formerly "foreign" sports like soccer are gaining American fans. In 1994 the U.S. hosted the World Cup for the first time ever.
许多的运动是从外国引进来的。欧洲移民把网球、高尔夫、保龄球和拳击带进了美国。橄榄球和棒球则源自其它的`欧洲传统比赛。只有篮球是唯一真正源自美国本土。即使在今日，一些原本是外来的运动例如英式足球也吸引了许多的美国运动迷。在一九九四年，美国首次负责举办世界杯足球赛。
Not all Americans worship sports, but athletics are an important part of their culture. Throughout their school life, Americans learn to play many sports. All students take physical education classes in school. Many people also enjoy non-competitive activities like hiking, biking, horseback riding, camping or hunting. To communicate with American sports nuts, it helps if you can talk sports.
并非所有的美国人都崇拜运动，但运动的确是他们文化当中极为重要的一部份。在他们的学校生活当中，美国人学*许多运动。所有的学生都必须在学校修体育课。许多人也喜欢从事一些非竞争性的活动像健行、骑单车、骑马、露营或打猎。要和美国运动迷沟通，最好是能畅谈运动。
——公共英语二级经典阅读文章 (菁华3篇)
Many sports were imported from other countries. European immigrants brought tennis, golf, bowling and boxing to America. Football and baseball came from other Old World games. Only basketball has a truly American origin. Even today some formerly "foreign" sports like soccer are gaining American fans. In 1994 the U.S. hosted the World Cup for the first time ever.
许多的运动是从外国引进来的。欧洲移民把网球、高尔夫、保龄球和拳击带进了美国。橄榄球和棒球则源自其它的`欧洲传统比赛。只有篮球是唯一真正源自美国本土。即使在今日，一些原本是外来的运动例如英式足球也吸引了许多的美国运动迷。在一九九四年，美国首次负责举办世界杯足球赛。
Not all Americans worship sports, but athletics are an important part of their culture. Throughout their school life, Americans learn to play many sports. All students take physical education classes in school. Many people also enjoy non-competitive activities like hiking, biking, horseback riding, camping or hunting. To communicate with American sports nuts, it helps if you can talk sports.
并非所有的美国人都崇拜运动，但运动的确是他们文化当中极为重要的一部份。在他们的学校生活当中，美国人学*许多运动。所有的学生都必须在学校修体育课。许多人也喜欢从事一些非竞争性的活动像健行、骑单车、骑马、露营或打猎。要和美国运动迷沟通，最好是能畅谈运动。
Fortune has often been blamed for her blindness; but fortune is not so blind as men are. Those who look into practical life will find that fortune is usually on the side of the industrious, as the winds and waves are on the side of the best navigators. The commoner qualities are the most useful--such as common sense, attention, application, and perseverance.
人们经常指责运气是盲目的;但是运气并不像人那样盲目。那些观察实际生活的人会发现运气通常支持勤劳的人，正如风浪支持最优秀的航海家一样。较普通的素质是最有用的——诸如常识、专心、勤奋和锲而不舍。
——公共英语二级考试试题及答案解析 (菁华3篇)
There is distinction between reading for information and reading for understanding.31 The first sense is the one in which we read newspapers, magazines, or anything else.32Such materials may increase our store of information, but they cannot improve our understanding. And clearly we don' t have any difficulty in .gaining the new information, for our understanding was equal to them before we started. Otherwise, we would have felt the shock of puzzlement.
The second sense is the one in which we read something that at first we do not completely un- derstand. Here the thing to be read is at the first sight better or higher than the reader. The writer is communicating something that can increase the reader' s understanding.33Otherwise one per- son could never learn from another. Here "learning" means understanding more, not remembering more information.
What are the conditions in this kind of reading? First, there is inequality in understanding.34Besides, his book must convey something he possesses and his potential readers lack. Sec-ond, the reader must be able to overcome this inequality in some degree. And he should always try to reach the same level of understanding with the writer. If the equality is approached, success of communication is achieved.
35It is the least demanding and requires the least amount of effort. Everyone who knows how to read can read for entertainment if he wants to. In fact, any book that can be read for under- standing or information can probably be read for entertainment as well.
A. The writer should have a better communicating skill.
B. Such communication between unequals must be possible.
C. We can get access to the content of those materials easily.
D. The writer must be "superior" to the reader in understanding.
E. Thus, we can employ the word "reading" in two distinct senses.
F. Reading for entertainment is capable of increasing our understanding for information.
G. Besides gaining information and understanding, there' s another goal of reading-enter-tainment.
答案及解析
31.E【解析】根据第二段第一句的`“The first sense is the one...”和第三段第一句的“The second sense is the one in which we…”可知E选项符合题意。故选E项。
32.C【解析】下文中提到“Such materials may increase our store of infor-marion，but they cannot improve our understanding.”，而且选项C也提到了materials一词，故选C项。
33.B【解析】前面两句中说作家的作品中有些读者不知道的内容，是需要读者认真领会的，因而作家与读者在知识上是不对等的(une.quals)。空格后的句子Otherwise one person could never leam fromanother.表示“否则一个人不可能从另一个人那里学到东西”，该句也解释了unequals(两个水*不同的人)的含义。同时，从行文上看，空前一句提到了communicating，而只有B项中的suchcommunication与之衔接紧密。
34.D【解析】D选项The writer must be“superior”to the reader in under-standing(作者必须比读者的理解力强)与本段第二句“First，thereis inequality in understanding.”相符。故选D项。
35.G【解析】下文内容是上文内容的一个延续，与上文为递进关系，所以用besides开头。本段后面出现了两次entertainment也提示答案为G项。
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的[A]、[B]、[C]和[D]四个选项中选出能填人空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
It was the district sports meeting. My foot still hadn't healed(痊愈)from a(n)36injury. I had37whether or not I should attend the meeting. But there I was,38for the 3,000-metre run.
"Ready... set... " The gun popped and we were off. The other girls rushed39me. I felt40as I fell farther and farther behind.
"Hooray!" shouted the crowd. It was the loudest41I had ever heard at a meeting. The first-place runner was two laps ( 圈 ) ahead of me when she crossed the finish line.
"Maybe I should42," I thought as I moved on.43, I decided to keep going. Dur- ing the last two laps, I ran44and decided not to45in track next year. It wouldn't be worth it,46my foot did heal.
When- I finished, I heard a cheer--47 than the one I'd heard earlier. I turned around and48, the boys were preparing for their race. "They must be cheering for the boys. "I was leaving49several girls came up to me. "Wow, you've got courage !" one of them told me."Courage? I just50a race !" I thought."I would have given up on the first lap," said another girl. "We were cheering for you. Did you hear us?"
Suddenly, I regained51I decided to52track next year. I realized strength and courage aren't always53in medals and victories, but in the54we overcome(战胜). The strongest people are not always the people who win,55the people who don't give up when they lose.
36.A. slighter
B. worse
C. earlier
D. heavier
37.A. expected
B. supposed
C. imagined
D. doubted
38.A. late
B. eager
C. ready
D. thirsty
39.A. from behind
B. ahead of
C. next to
D. close to
40.A. ashamed
B. astonished
C. excited
D. frightened
41.A. cheer
B. shout
C. cry
D. noise
42.A. slow down
B. drop out
C. go on
D. speed up
43.A. Therefore
B. Otherwise
C. Besides
D. However
44.A. with delight
B. with fear
C. in pain
D. in advance
45.A. play
B. arrive
C. race
D. attend
46.A. even if
B. only if
C. unless
D. until
47. A. weaker
B. longer
C. lower
D. louder
48.A. well enough
B. sure enough
C. surprisingly enough
D. strangely enough
49.A. while
B. when
C. as
D. since
50.A. finished
B. won
C. passed
D. lost
51.A. cheer
B. hope
C. interest
D. experience
52.A. hold on
B. turn to
C. begin with
D. stick with
53.A. measured
B. praised
C. tested
D. increased
54.A. sadness
B. struggles
C. diseases
D. tiredness
55. A.or
B.nor
C.and
D.but
答案及解析
36.C.【考点】形容词辨析
【解析】根据语境，应知是运动会之前的脚伤未痊愈，earlier“之前的，较早的”。故本题选C。
37.D
【考点】动词辨析
【解析】作者的脚受伤了，使她对于是否参加比赛有些犹豫不决。doubt“怀疑，迟疑”。故本题选D。
38.C
【考点】形容词辨析
【解析】ready for sth.“为…做准备”，并非怀着渴望心情(eager或thirsty)。
39.B
【考点】介词短语辨析
【解析】from behind“从后面”;ahead of“超过…”;next to“接着…”;close to“紧挨着…”。由下文Ifellfarther andfarther behind可知选B。
40.A
【考点】上下文语义的衔接
【解析】从句意思是作者落在了别人后面，因此很羞愧，ashamed“羞愧的”符合题意，故本题选A。
41.A
【考点】名词辨析
【解析】cheer表示人群的欢呼声或为运动员加油的喊声;shout“呼喊，喊叫声”;cry“哭声”;noise“噪声”。根据语境可知选A。
42.B
【考点】动词短语辨析
【解析】由上文可知，作者比第一名慢了两圈，觉得很丢脸，想中途放弃。drop out“放弃，退出”。故本题选B。
43.D
【考点】副词辨析
【解析】therefore“所以”;otherwise“否则”;besides“除了”;however表示转折关系。drop out和keep going构成转折关系。故本题选D。
44.C
【考点】名词短语的辨析
【解析】因为作者有脚伤，因此跑得很痛苦。in pain“在痛苦之中”。故本题选C。
45.C
【考点】动词辨析
【解析]play“玩耍”;arrive“到达”，与原文意思不符;race“赛跑”，是不及物动词;attend是及物动词，后应加宾语。
It was a sunny day. A little boy' s father was sitting on the couch, drinking a beer while watc. hing56basketball match. Seeing this, the boy rushed to his father and shouted, "Daddy, show me how to play catch!" The father, stating57the television screen, replied, "Let me finish watching the match. Play outside and come back in five minutes. "
"Okay, Daddy !" said the boy, running out of the room. Five minutes later, the boy returnee58(scream), "Daddy, Let's play catch now!"
By this time, the father had opened another cold beer and another match was beginning.59(patient) with the boy' s interruption, the dad brought a magazine to his son. On the covet of the magazine was a large picture of the world. The father, who was angry and60( both- er), began tearing the magazine cover into small61. Then, the father turned to his boy and said, "Son, once you put this picture back together, we can play catch, but do not interrupt me a- gain62you finish. "
A few minutes later, the boy returned and said, "I have finished, Daddy! Can we play catcbnow?"63( surprise), the father glanced towards his child, and64lay the magazine with the world pieced perfectly together in his small hands. The dad asked his child how he put the world together so quickly.
"65was simple," said the boy. "On the back of the world was the picture of a person,and once I put the person together, that' s when the world came together. "
答案及解析
56.【答案】a
【解析】本题考查冠词。语境表示父亲正在看一场篮球比赛，故应在单数可数名词match前加冠词a，泛指“一场比赛”。
57.【答案】at
【解析】本题考查介词。这里用stare at表示“盯着…看”。故填at。
58.【答案】screaming
【解析】本题考查非谓语动词。本空所在句子的两个动词return和scream之间没有连词，因此本空用现在分词作伴随状语。故填scream的现在分词形式screaming。
59.【答案】Impatient
【解析】本题考查形容词转换。由本段内容可知，父亲对孩子是极不耐烦的，这里应该用形容词短语impatient with作状语，表示“对…不耐烦”。
60.【答案】bothered
【解析】本题考查动词语态。语境表示父亲很生气，很恼火，动词both—er在这里用被动语态be bothered表示“被打扰”。
61.【答案】pieces
【解析】本题考查名词搭配。这里用tear…into pieces表示“把…撕成碎片”。
62.【答案】until/before
【解析】本题考查状语从句。语境表示“在你做完之前不要来打扰我”，故用until或before引导时间状语从句。
63.【答案】Surprised
【解析】本题考查非谓语动词。父亲惊讶地看向自己的孩子。sat-prised表示“感到惊讶的”。
64.【答案】there
【解析】本题考查句式。这里用there lay句式表示“…就在那里放着”。
65.【答案】It/That/This
【解析】本题考查代词。这里用代词it，that或this指代前面提到的“把这些碎片粘贴到一起”。
——公共英语二级口语经典对话 (菁华3篇)
【迷你小对话1】
A: My English is a bit rusty. I haven’t used it since high school.
B: Yeah. Mine is too. It needs a bit of oiling up.
A: 我的英语有点儿荒废了，高中以后就没怎么用过。
B: 我也是。需要补补了。
【迷你小对话2】
A: That Jane is such a dolt. She left her cellphone in a taxi.
B: What a ninny! That’s the third time this year!
A: 那个Jane可真笨，把手机落在出租车里了。
B: 真是个笨蛋！这已经是今年第三次发生了！
【语言点精讲】
rusty: （因缺乏实践）质量或标准下降；荒疏。
need oiling up: 形容某人技艺不精，需要多加练*。
dolt: 呆子，傻瓜。
ninny: 傻子，笨人。
【迷你小对话1】
A: I am as awkward as a cow on skates.
B: I know. These formal dinners just aren’t my speed.
A: I agree. Let’s not come to one of these events again.
A: 我笨得像一头穿着溜冰鞋的牛。
B: 我知道。我不喜欢这样正儿八经的晚餐。
A: 我也不喜欢。咱们以后再也别到这种场合了。
【迷你小对话2】
A: When I first went to China, I was so ham-fisted that I couldn’t even handle chopsticks.
B: You still are. Look, you’re pounding on the nuts, but they’re bouncing all over the floor.
A: 刚到*的时候，我笨手笨脚的，连筷子都不会用。
B: 现在你也不灵巧啊。瞧，砸个坚果弄得满地都是。
【语言点精讲】
be awkward as a cow on skates: 指某人行动笨拙，不能把事情办好。也可以用来形容某人没有信心把某项体育活动做好。
be not one’s speed: 指某人对所谈论的事不感兴趣。
ham-fisted: 笨手笨脚的'。愚笨的。
pound on: 猛敲，用力砸。
bounce: 弹跳。
【迷你小对话1】
A: I want to get the house painted. It is getting a bit dirty and dingy.
B: Make sure you hire the experts to do it. You’re so clumsy and awkward. You’ll probably fall off the ladder and hurt yourself.
A: 我想把房子刷一下。房子变得又脏又暗了。
B: 那你得找几个行家来刷。你笨手笨脚的，说不定会从梯子上摔下来受伤的。
【迷你小对话2】
A: Oh no! Someone has put his hand in Grandma’s birthday cake! Who could have done it?
B: I bet Roger did it. He is so ham-handed, always dropping things and walking into walls. It’s just another of his accidents.
A: 天啊！有人把手插到奶奶的生日蛋糕里了！会是谁干的呢？
B: 一定是Roger，他毛手毛脚的，不是掉东西就是走路撞墙。这肯定又是他一不小心干的。
【语言点精讲】
clumsy: 手脚笨拙的。样子不优雅的。
awkward: 手脚笨拙的，不灵巧的。不熟练的。
ham-handed: 笨拙的。
dingy: 暗淡的，泛黄的。
——公共英语五级阅读文章 (菁华3篇)
Evolution and Wheels
In the past, evolutionary biologists contemplating the absence of wheels in nature agreed that the explanation was not undesirability: wheels would be good for animals, just as they are for us. Animals were prevented from evolving wheels, the biologists reasoned, by the following dilemma: living cells in an animal's body are connected to the heart by blood vessels, and to the brain by nerves. Because a rotating joint is essential to a wheel, a wheel made of living cells would twist its artery vein and nerve connections at the first revolution, making living impracticable. However, there is a flaw in the argument that the evolution of wheeled animals was thwarted by the insoluble joint problem. The theory fails to explain why animals have not evolved wheels of dead tissue with no need for arteries and nerves. Countless animals, including us, bear external structures without blood sup* or nerves - for example, our hair and fingernails, or the scales, claws, and ho rns of other animals. Why have rats not evolved bony wheels, similar to roller skates?Paws might be more useful than wheels in some situations, but cats' claws are retractable: why not retractable wheels?We thus arrive at the serious biological paradox flippantly termed the RRR dilemma: nature's failure to produce rats with retractable roller skates.
进化与轮子
从前，研究自然界没有轮子的进化论生物学家都同意不能用无此需要来解释这种现象：轮子对于动物会像对于我们人类一样有好处。生物学家们推论，动物没有进化出轮子是由下述困难所致：动物身上的活细胞通过血管与心脏相连，通过神经与大脑相连。因为一个旋转的接头对轮子来说是至关重要的，由活的细胞构成的轮子在第一次转动时便会扭伤其上的动脉和神经的连结，因而不现实。
不过，动物未能进化出轮子是受阻于无法解决接头问题的说法有一个缺陷。这种理论无法解释为何动物没有进化出由死组织构成的而无需动脉和神经的`轮子。包括人在内的无数动物都有一些没有血液供应和神经的体外构造，例如，我们的头发和指甲，或者鳞片、爪子和其它一些动物的角。为什么老鼠没有进化出类似于滑轮溜冰鞋的骨质的轮子呢?在某些情况下，爪子可能比轮子更有用，但猫的爪子是可以伸缩的：为什么不能有可以伸缩的轮 子呢?这样，我们便得出了一个被戏称为 RRR 的严肃的生物学悖论：大自然未能产生出有可伸缩的滑轮溜冰鞋的老鼠。
Archaeology is a source of history, not just a humble auxiliary discipline. Archaeological data are historical documents in their own right, not mere illustrations to written texts. Just as much as any other historian, an archaeologist studies and tries to reconstitute the process that has created the human world in which we live —— and us ourselves in so far as we are each creatures of our age and social environment. Archaeological data are all changes in the material world resulting from human action or, more succinctly, the fossilized results of human behavior. The sum total of these constitutes what may be called the archaeological record. This record exhibits certain peculiarities and deficiencies the consequences of which produce a rather superficial contrast between archaeological history and the more familiar kind based upon written records.
Not all human behavior fossilizes. The words I utter and you hear as vibrations in the air are certainly human changes in the material world and may be of great historical significance. Yet they leave no sort of trace in the archaeological records unless they are captured by a dictaphone or written down by a clerk. The movement of troops on the battlefield may "change the course of history," but this is equally ephemeral from the archaeologist's standpoint. What is perhaps worse, most organic materials are perishable. Everything made of wood, hide, wool, linen, grass, hair, and similar materials will decay and vanish in dust in a few years or centuries, save under very exceptional conditions. In a relatively brief period the archaeological record is reduced to mere scraps of stone, bone, glass, metal, and earthenware. Still modern archaeology, by ap*ing appropriate techniques and comparative methods, aided by a few lucky finds from peat-bogs, deserts, and frozen soils, is able to fill up a good deal of the gap.
考古学是历史学的一个来源，而不是地位卑微的辅助学科。考古学资料本身也是一种 历史文献，而不仅仅是文字资料的例证。正象任何一位历史学家那样，考古学家研究调查并尽力去重构一个过程。这个过程创造了我们生活的人类世界，也创造了我们自身，因为我们都是我们所处的时代和社会环境的产物。考古学的资料就是人类行为所造成的物质变化。更简洁地说，是石化了的人类行为。这些变化的总和构成了我们所说的考古学记录。这些记录自有其独特和不足之处，因而导致人们对考古历史和更熟悉的文字记载历史进行相当肤浅的对比。
并不是所有的人类行为都留下化石。我说的话，你通过空气振动听见，这当然是人类造成的物质变化，也可能有重大的历史意义，但这些话在考古学中未留下丝毫痕迹，除非有人用录音机录下来或文书把这些话写了下来。战场上军队的行动可能"改变历史的进程"，但从考古学的观点来看，这同样是难以捕捉的;可能更糟的是，多数有机物质会腐烂。任何由木头、生皮、绒线、亚麻、草、毛发以及相似物质做成的东西除非在一些非常特殊的条件下，几年或几个世纪以后，会在尘土中腐烂并消失。在短时期内，能留下考古记录的东西也都会退化为石头、骨头、玻璃、金属和陶器的碎片。然而，现代的 考古学通过运用适当的技术和比较的方法，在从泥炭、沙漠和冻土中所获得的一些幸运发现的辅助下，能够填充这个空缺的很大部分。
From Boston to Los Angeles, from New York City to Chicago to Dallas, museums are either planning, building, or wrapping up wholesale expansion programs. These programs already have radically altered facades and floor plans or are expected to do so in the not-too-distant future.
In New York City alone, six major institutions have spread up and out into the air space and neighborhoods around them or are preparing to do so.
The reasons for this confluence of activity are complex, but one factor is a consideration everywhere -- space. With collections expanding, with the needs and functions of museums changing, empty space has become a very precious commodity.
Probably nowhere in the country is this more true than at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which has needed additional space for decades and which received its last significant facelift ten years ago. Because of the space crunch, the Art Museum has become increasingly cautious in considering acquisitions and donations of art, in some cases passing up opportunities to strengthen its collections.
Deaccessing -- or selling off -- works of art has taken on new importance because of the museum's space problems. And increasingly, curators have been forced to juggle gallery space, rotating one masterpiece into public view while another is sent to storage.
Despite the clear need for additional gallery and storage space, however, "the museum has no plan, no plan to break out of its envelope in the next fifteen years," according to Philadelphia Museum of Art's president.
从波士顿到洛杉机，从纽约到芝加哥、到达拉斯，所有的博物馆或者正在筹划、建造或者正在完成大规模的扩建计划。这些计划或者已经根本性地改变了博物馆门面与展厅的设计，或者预期在不久的将来会这样做。
单单在纽约市，六个主要机构或者已经向空中和周围扩展，或者正准备这样做。
大家一致行动的原因是复杂多样的，但其中的一个因素是普遍考虑的空间问题。随着收藏品的增多，也随着博物馆的需要和功能的变化，空间已经变成了一项非常珍贵的商品。
在我国，也许没有任何其他地方比费城艺术博物馆更符合这个事实。这个博物馆几十年来一直需要额外的空间，十年前进行了最后一次重大的翻新。由于空间紧缺，该艺术博物馆在考虑购买与受赠艺术品已越来越谨慎，有时甚至放弃增强艺术收藏的机会。由于博物馆的空间问题，将艺术品脱手或者说卖掉已经有了新的重要意义。 博物馆馆长们被迫巧妙轮换利用陈列馆的空间，轮流着把一些艺术杰作向公众展出，而把另一些送入存储室中。
虽然对额外的陈列室和存储室空间需要很明显，但据费城艺术博物馆经理讲：“博物馆还没有在未来十五年打破这个束缚的计划。”
——公共英语阅读技巧 (菁华3篇)
所谓释义性的题目，就是要求对文章中阐述的事物进行准确的解释。问题往往问该事物的特征、优点、功能、作用等，如
The main characteristics of the system is _________.
One of the advantages of living in the countryside is _________.
这类问题在阅读理解的题目中占较大的比例。因为，阅读理解的文章大多是说明文体裁。说明文就是对事物解释，定义。文章用较大的篇幅来解释，答案项要么是对这些解释的另一说法，要么是对这些解释的归纳。
这类问题虽属细节题，但不容易做。有两点要注意。
1.注意解释的准确性
干扰项往往在对文章事物的解释中，夹带"私货：，加进一些词，夸大了原文的意义，作了不合事实的引伸。
这就告诉我们，在辨别信息时，对一些对原文解释、归纳的选项，要注意其释义的准确性。特别要当心在解释时加进一些修饰词，如mainly，chiefly，whenever，Only等，使原文的意思发生细微的变化。因此有这些词的选项，多半是错误的。
2.注意归纳的准确性
问的是事物的主要特点、特征、功能，干扰项却把次要的、细节性的东西，具体事实混进选项。
这告诉我们，在做释义题，辨别选项时，要注意区分细节和结论，事实和观点。问归纳性的结论，观点时不要把具体的`细节，事实套上去。
由于阅读理解的文章绝大多数是属于说明文体裁，而说明文的主要功能是对事物、现象的解释和阐述。因此许多题目都涉及到分析和辨别事物的原因或成因。例如：
The main reason for the failure of the organization to achieve the success is that _____.
Mouthwashes are not effective cure for bad breath mainly BECause _________.
Which of the following is mentioned as one of the causes for the earthquake ______.
在做寻找事物原因的题目时，有几点要特别注意。
1.问的是主要原因或真正原因，而命题人员总把一些次要的，非直接的，非根本的原因放进选项。由于这些次要的原因也是文章中提到的，因此考生如不仔细，往往会把次要原因当作答案。
这就告诉我们，做这类题目，首先要注意问题中的the main/chief/real cause (reason，factor) 这些词，提醒自己，问题问的是主要原因。然后分析事物的诸多的原因，理出最主要的，直接的，根本的原因。
2.问的是事物的原因，但出现在选项里的还有事物的后果、影响。由子这些后果、影响和原因一样，都是指一件事，且都出现在同一相关段，或相关句中，稍不留心，就会搞错。
这就告诉我们，做寻找原因的题目时，对文章所说的事物的原因、结果、影响，应理清它们之间的逻辑关系。不要错把结果当原因。
如何做猜测例证用意的题目
阅读理解文章基本上是说明文，议论文。而这类体裁的文章少不了用例子，事实来说明观点。因此我们往往会碰到要求猜测文章举例的目的——这些例子要说明什么观点——的题目。如：
The example of … is given to show/illustrate that.
What can be inferred from the author's example of ?
The experiment/study suggests/shows that.
解答这类问题，要注意以下几点。
1.注意例证所在的段落主题句
如果例证所在段有概括段落思想的主题句，就首先读这个主题句，看它的意思和问题下四个选择项哪项意思一致。一致的那个就是答案，不要去读具体例证了。因为举例的目的是为了说明观点，而段落中的例子大多是说明段落主题思想的。
2.注意例证上下文的作者观点
如果例证所在段没有主题旬或例证本身就是一段，就要看例证上面一段、下面一段有否相关的归纳性的作者观点。如果这个作者观点和问题中的某一个选择项意思一致，那就是答案，也不要去读具体例证。
3.注意全文中心思想
有时例证所在段没有主题旬，上下文周围也没有明显的作者观点，那就要去读文章中心思想句，看它与例证有什么关系，和问题下面的选择项哪一个意思一致。一致的那个就是答案，也可省去读具体例证。因为文章中的例证不是直接就是间接地说明和支持全文中心思想的。
4.对例证本身进行推测
如果段落主题句看不出，全文中心思想句也看不出，周围也没有明显的作者观点说明，那只能细读具体例证，对例证本身进行推测。
在做阅读理解题目时，我们经常碰到这样的问题：In line 3，the word" "most probably mean. By" "(Line 3)，the author means.
这种问题与其是考你的词汇量大小，还不如说考你是否具有利用上下文判断单词意思的能力。阅读理解部分的词汇题目与词汇部分的题目，考的目的是不同的。后者考的词，基本上都是考纲里的，考的目的是看你掌握没有。而前者考的词，基本上是超纲的，生疏的。但是其意义是从文章中能推导出来的。因为如考你的单词是超出考试大纲的，也就是说考出要求考生掌握的，而上下文中又没有线索的，其意义是推理不出的，这样的生僻词是不会考的，是命题不容许的(托福考试另当别论)。因此，如阅读理解中考你某一超纲词、生僻词，上下文中肯定有暗示这个词的词义的线索。做这类题，就是要根据上下文，抓住线索来推断词义。下面介绍几种办法。
一、利用生词周围的定义解释
文章中如出现一些生僻词或一些术语，作者生怕读者不理解，为了免除读者费力去查工具书，往往会用一些办法来暗示其义。
1. 注意that is，in other words，namely，that means，this is等过渡词直接引出同义解释。
2. 注意and， not Only...but also， besides， similarly，likewise，in the same way等过渡词引出的同一，类似的意思。
3. 注意生词前后的but，however，while，on the contrary等过渡词。它们表示一种对立或同等关系。
4. 注意for example，such as，a case in point is等过渡词，引出一个具体例子来说明阐述。
5. 注意生词前后的冒号：，破折号——，括弧( )，等标点符号。这些标点符号总暗示一些语义关系。如冒号引出具体的说明，或例子。分号引出类似的，对立的观点。破折号引出同位语。
6.注意生词被同义词、反义词解释，被定语从句修饰，被同位语或独立一句来说明。
二、利用单词的构词法
英语当中有许多词是由词根，前缀，后缀合成的，如果认识其中的词根，往往可以通过前缀或后缀的意义来判断词义。有时仅仅靠前缀或后缀的意义也能猜测。例如，很少人知道telepathy这个词，但我们知道前缀tele的意义：distant。如telephone远方传来的声音(phone = sound)一电话，television远方传来的视象(vision = picture)一电视，telegram远方传来的文字(gram=writing)一电报。我们也有所了解词根pathy的意义：feeling。如sympathy同样的感情(sym=same)一同情，antipathy反对感情(anti=against)一反感，apathy没有感情(a=without)一冷漠。因此，telepathy distant + feeling，心灵遥感。
三、运用基本的猜词技巧
当然，利用文章上下文线索是有限的。即使熟悉了英语构词法，也并不能保证解答所有词汇问题。因此还需要有一定的猜词技巧。也就是说，考生如掌握一定的猜词技巧，就会大大提高猜词的命中率。
猜词技巧主要有代入法和排除法两种。
代入法的依据是，四个选项的词都认识的，把它们一一代入句中所考的词的位置，看其文章意义或语法意义是否成立。
排除法是利用构词法，上下文线索等把选项中认识的词项一一排除掉，剩下来的一个项，即使不知道其义，也可断定它是答案。
如何做"it"、"they"、"one"等指代性的题目
我们做阅读理解题目时常碰到这样的问题：
The word "it" in line 3 most probably refers to .
In line 3, the word "one" could best be replaced by .
What does the word "they" in line 3 refer to ?
这种指代性的题目有一定的难度。从历年四、六级考试对这种题目的得分分析，答对比率只有33%左右。因为它要求对代词所在句以及紧邻几个句子的结构和意思都要有准确的理解。
指代有两种情况。
1. 指代单数词或词组。
2. 指代句子意思
在具体解答这类问题时，我们应注意几点。
一、注意指代条件
it，they，one，that，this都有自己的指代条件，如单数，复数，可数，不可数，先行词的远*(先行词一般紧靠着代词。也就是说代词前面有几个可指代的词或词组同时出现，最靠*可能性最大。)
二、注意文章意思
如果代词周围有好几个名词或词组，而且都符合指代条件，这就要分析哪一选项符合文章意思。
三、注意搭配意思
把四个选项试着代人，看哪一项符合搭配意思，包括句子的语法意义和逻辑意义。
四、注意综合考虑
综合注意指代条件，文章意思和搭配意思。
——公共英语二级阅读理解扩展文章 (菁华5篇)
Prices determine how resources are to be used. They are also the means by which products and services that are in limited sup* are rationed among buyers. The price system of the United States is a complex network composed of the prices of all the products bought and sold in the economy as well as those of a myriad of services, including labor, professional, transportation, and public-utility services. The interrelationships of all these prices make up the"system" of prices. The price of any particular product or service is linked to a broad, complicated system of prices in which everything seems to depend more or less upon everything else.
If one were to ask a group of randomly selected individuals to define "price", many would re* that price is an amount of money paid by the buyer to the seller of a product or service or, in other words, that price is the money value of a product or service as agreed upon in a market transaction. This definition is, of course, valid as far as it goes. For a complete understanding of a price in any particular transaction, much more than the amount of money involved must be known. Both the buyer and the seller should be familiar with not only the money amount, but with the amount and quality of the product or service to be exchanged, the time and place at which the exchange will take place and payment will be made, the form of money to be used, the credit terms and discounts that ap* to the transaction, guarantees on the product or service, delivery terms, return privileges, and other factors. In other words, both buyer and seller should be fully aware of all the factors that comprise the total "package" being exchanged for the asked-for amount of money in order that they may evaluate a given price.
价格决定资源的使用方式。价格也是有限的产品与服务在买方中的配给手段。美国的价格系统是复杂的网状系统，包括经济生活中一切产品买卖的价格，也包括名目繁多的各种服务，诸如劳动力、专职人员、交通运输、公共事业等服务的价格。所有这些价格的内在联系构成了价格系统。任何一种个别产品或服务的价格都与这个庞大而复杂的系统密切相关，而且或多或少地受到系统中其它成份的制约。
如果随机挑选一群人，问问他们如何定义"价格"，许多人会回答价格就是根据卖方提供的产品或服务，买方向其付出的钱数。换句话说，价格就是市场交易中大家认同的产品或服务的货币量。该定义就其本身来说自有其道理。但要获得对价格在任何一桩交易中的完整认识，就必须考虑到大量"非货币"因素的影响。买卖双方不但要清楚交易中的钱数，而且要非常熟悉交易物的质量和数量，交易的'时间、地点，采用哪种形式付款，有怎样的缓付和优惠，对交易物的质量保证、交货条款、退赔权利等等。也就是说，为了能估算索价，买卖双方必须通晓构成交易物价格的通盘细节。
Andrew Carnegie, known as the King of Steel, built the steel industry in the United States, and, in the process, became one of the wealthiest men in America. His success resulted in part from his ability to sell the product and in part from his policy of expanding during periods of economic decline, when most of his compe*s were reducing their investments.
Carnegie believed that individuals should progress through hard work, but he also felt strongly that the wealthy should use their fortunes for the benefit of society. He opposed charity, preferring instead to provide educational opportunities that would allow others to help themselves. "He who dies rich, dies disgraced, " he often said.Among his more noteworthy contributions to society are those that bear his name, including the Carnegie Institute of Pittsburgh, which has a library, a museum of fine arts, and a museum of national history. He also founded a school of technology that is now part of Carnegie-Mellon University. Other philanthropic gifts are the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace to promote understanding between nations, the Carnegie Institute of Washington to fund scientific research, and Carnegie Hall to provide a center for the arts.
Few Americans have been left untouched by Andrew Carnegie's generosity. His contributions of more than five million dollars established 2,500 libraries in small communities throughout the country and formed the nucleus of the public library system that we all enjoy today.
被称作钢铁大王的安德鲁·卡内基在美国建立了钢铁工业。在这个过程中，他变成了美国最富有的人之一。 他的成功，部分来自于他销售产品的能力，部分来自于经济萧条时期的扩充策略。在萧条时期，他的多数对手都在缩减投资。
卡内基认为个人应该通过努力工作来获得进展，但他也强烈地感到有钱人应该运用他们的财富来为社会谋 取福利。他反对施舍救济，更愿意提供教育机会，使别人自立。卡内基经常说："富有着死去的人死得可耻。"他对社会的较重要的贡献都以他的名字命名。这些贡献包括匹兹堡卡内基学校。这个学校有一个图书馆，一个美术馆和一个国家历史博物馆;他还创立了一所技术学校，这所学校现在是卡内基梅隆大学的一部分;其他的慈善捐赠有为促进国家间了解的"卡内基国际和*基金"，为科学研究提供经费的华盛顿卡内基学院以及给各种艺术活动提供活动中心的卡内基音乐厅。
安德鲁·卡内基的慷慨大度几乎影响到每个美国人的生活。由于他超过五百万美元的捐款，2500 个图书馆得以建立起来，遍布在美国各地的小村镇，形成了我们今天还在享用的公共图书馆系统的核心。
Prices determine how resources are to be used. They are also the means by which products and services that are in limited sup* are rationed among buyers. The price system of the United States is a complex network composed of the prices of all the products bought and sold in the economy as well as those of a myriad of services, including labor, professional, transportation, and public-utility services. The interrelationships of all these prices make up the"system" of prices. The price of any particular product or service is linked to a broad, complicated system of prices in which everything seems to depend more or less upon everything else.
If one were to ask a group of randomly selected individuals to define "price", many would re* that price is an amount of money paid by the buyer to the seller of a product or service or, in other words, that price is the money value of a product or service as agreed upon in a market transaction. This definition is, of course, valid as far as it goes. For a complete understanding of a price in any particular transaction, much more than the amount of money involved must be known. Both the buyer and the seller should be familiar with not only the money amount, but with the amount and quality of the product or service to be exchanged, the time and place at which the exchange will take place and payment will be made, the form of money to be used, the credit terms and discounts that ap* to the transaction, guarantees on the product or service, delivery terms, return privileges, and other factors. In other words, both buyer and seller should be fully aware of all the factors that comprise the total "package" being exchanged for the asked-for amount of money in order that they may evaluate a given price.
价格决定资源的使用方式。价格也是有限的产品与服务在买方中的配给手段。美国的价格系统是复杂的网状系统，包括经济生活中一切产品买卖的价格，也包括名目繁多的各种服务，诸如劳动力、专职人员、交通运输、公共事业等服务的价格。所有这些价格的内在联系构成了价格系统。任何一种个别产品或服务的价格都与这个庞大而复杂的系统密切相关，而且或多或少地受到系统中其它成份的制约。
如果随机挑选一群人，问问他们如何定义"价格"，许多人会回答价格就是根据卖方提供的产品或服务，买方向其付出的钱数。换句话说，价格就是市场交易中大家认同的产品或服务的货币量。该定义就其本身来说自有其道理。但要获得对价格在任何一桩交易中的完整认识，就必须考虑到大量"非货币"因素的影响。买卖双方不但要清楚交易中的钱数，而且要非常熟悉交易物的质量和数量，交易的'时间、地点，采用哪种形式付款，有怎样的缓付和优惠，对交易物的质量保证、交货条款、退赔权利等等。也就是说，为了能估算索价，买卖双方必须通晓构成交易物价格的通盘细节。
For many people in the U.S., sports are not just for fun. Theyre almost a religion. Thousands of sports fans buy expensive tickets to watch their favorite teams and athletes play in person.
Other fans watch the games at home, glued to their TV sets. Americas devotion to athletics has created a new class of wealthy people: professional athletes. Sports stars often receive million-dollar salaries. Some even make big money appearing in advertisements for soft drinks, shoes and even toiletries.
对许多的美国人而言，运动不只是为了好玩。它几乎成了一种宗教崇拜，数以千计的运动迷会为了能亲眼目睹他们喜爱的球队或运动员比赛而出高价购买门票。
其它的球迷则守在家里寸步不离地收看电视转播。美国人对于运动的投入形成了一个新的富有阶级：职业运动员。运动明星通常会收到上百万元的薪水。其中有些人甚至是因为替饮料、鞋，甚至个人化妆用品拍广告而赚了一大笔钱。
Not all Americans worship sports, but athletics are an important part of their culture. Throughout their school life, Americans learn to play many sports. All students take physical education classes in school.
Many people also enjoy non-competitive activities like hiking, biking, horseback riding, camping or hunting. To communicate with American sports nuts, it helps if you can talk sports.
并非所有的美国人都崇拜运动，但运动的确是他们文化当中极为重要的一部份。在他们的学校生活当中，美国人学*许多运动。所有的学生都必须在学校修体育课。
许多人也喜欢从事一些非竞争性的活动像健行、骑单车、骑马、露营或打猎。要和美国运动迷沟通，最好是能畅谈运动。
——初中英语双语阅读文章实用五份
One day I was on a bus. I found an elderly woman standing in front of me. She had a big bag in her hand. "It's a virtue for a young person to help the old,"I said to myself. When I was standing up to give my seat to the old lady, a young foreigner got up quickly saying, "Please sit down."The old lady thanked him and sat down. She looked very happy. I was a little embarrassed because I was sitting in the middle of the bus. Suddenly a pregnant woman got onto the bus. I quickly stood up to give up my seat to her. The foreigner smiled at me. He said that he was an Australian, and was a student studying Chinese culture in China.
ride 骑马、骑脚踏车或乘坐公共交通工具旅行
elderly 年长的
virtue 美德
pregnant 怀孕的'
乘公共汽车
一天，我在一辆公共汽车上。我发现一位年长的妇人站在我的面前，她手里拿了个大包。“帮助老人是年轻人的美德。”我对自己说。当我正要站起来把自己的座位让给那位老妇人时，一个年轻的外国人很快站了起来，说：“请这里坐。”老妇人谢谢他，然后坐下，她看上去非常高兴。我有一点尴尬，因为我坐在车厢的中间。突然一个孕妇上了车。我很快地站起来把座位让给了她。那个外国人笑着看着我，他说他是澳大利亚人，正在中国学*中国文化。
Three Little Pigs and a Big Wolf
Once, a mother pig sent her three little children into the world. They needed to look after themselves.
The first pig found some straw, and he built a fine house with straw, and he built a fine house with straw.
The second pig built a house with wood.
The third pig built a house with stone.
One day, a wolf came to straw house, he was hungry.
"Little pig let me in! I'm your brother."
"No, no! You are a wolf."
Then the wolf blew down the straw house. The first pig ran to the wooden house.
Then the wolf came to the wooden house, too. The two pigs ran to the stone house.
The wolf came and blew the stone house. He blew and blew, but the house didn't fall down. Then wolf was angry, he climbed to the roof and jumped down the chimney.
The wolf fell into the pot! Ouch! He ran away.
The three little pigs lived happily.
从前，猪妈妈把她的三个小孩打发出去，因为他们需要学会照顾自己。
第一只小猪找到一些稻草，他盖了一座漂亮的草房子。
第一只小猪盖了一座木头房子。
第二只小猪了盖了一座石头房子。
一天， 一只大灰狼来到草房前，他十分饥饿。
"小猪，让我进去，我是我你兄弟。"
"不，不，你是大灰狼。"
然后大灰狼就把草屋吹倒了，第一只小猪逃到了木头屋子里。
然后狼来到木头前，他吹呀吹可是吹不倒石头房子。狼发怒了，他爬上了屋顶并从烟囱往下跳。
在烟囱下面的火炉上有一锅水。三只小猪用大火把得很烫。
狼掉进了锅里!哎呀!他逃走了?
三只小猪从此过着快乐的生活。
Father's Things
When Peter is 17, he is as tall as his father. So he begins to borrow his father's clothes when he wants to go out with his father's clothes when he wants to go out with his friends in the evening. Father doesn't like this. And he always gets very angry when he finds his son wearing any of his things.
One evening when Peter is about to go out; his father stops him in the living room. He looks at Peter's clothes very carefully. Then he says angrily, "Isn't that one of my ties, Peter?"
"Yes, Father, it is," answers Peter.
"And that shirt is mine, too."
"Yes, that's your, too." answers Peter.
"And you're wearing my belt!"
"Yes, I am, Father," answers Peter, "You don't want to your trousers to fall down, do you?"
父母的东西
皮特17岁的时候，长得和父亲一样高了。于是，当他晚上和朋友一起出去时，就开始借父亲的衣服穿。可是这位父亲可不喜欢这样，当他发现他的儿子穿他的衣服时，总是非常生气。
一天晚上，皮特准备出去，父亲在客厅里拦住了他。父亲细细打量着皮特的穿着。然后气呼呼的说着;"皮特，那不是我的领带吗?"
皮特回答说："是的，父亲，是您的领带。"
"还有那衬衫也是我的。"
"是的，衬衫也是您的。"皮特回答说。
"还有呢，你连皮带也用我的。"父亲说。
"是的，父亲，"皮特回答说，"您不愿意让您的裤子掉下来吧?"
It happened that a dog had some meat that he wanted to eat at home. On his way home he met a river. As he looked down, he saw his shadow in the water.
"Just look!"said he to himself. "That dog down there has some meat, too. If I could get it away from him, I would really eat well tonight!"
With this thought, he made a snap at the other dog's meat. And as he did, his own meat fell into the water. So then he had nothing at all.
Then he saw that the other dog had lost his meat, too. "That is as it should be!?thought he. "For I saw him trying to take my meat away from me."
By wanting to have everything, he has lost everything he had!
shadow 影子
snap at 抓，咬
狗和他的影子
碰巧狗有一些肉，他想回到家后再吃。回家的路上，他遇到了一条河。当他往河里看时，在水里他看到了他的影子。
“看啊!”他对自己说，“下面的那只狗也有一些肉。如果我能从他那里把肉弄过来，那我今晚就可以美餐一顿了!”
带着这个想法，他朝另一只狗的肉扑去。当他这么做时，他自己的肉掉进了水里。所以他就什么都没有了。
然后，他看到另一只狗的肉也没了。“活该!”他想，“因为我看到他想从我这里抢走我的肉。” 什么都想要，却失去了原来所拥有的!
A Clever Panda
A little panda picks up a pumpkin and wants to take it home. But the pumpkin is too big. The panda can't take it home.
Suddenly she sees a bear riding a bike toward her. She watches the bike. "I know! I have a good idea." she jumps and shouts happily, "I can roll a pumpkin. It's like a wheel."
So she rolls the pumpkin to her home. When her mother sees the big pumpkin, she is surprised, "Oh, my God! How can you carry it home?" the little panda answers proudly, "I can't lift it, but I can roll it." Her mother smiled and says，"What a clever girl! Use you heard to do something,"
一只小熊猫摘了一只大南瓜，想把它拿回家。但是这只南瓜太大了，她没有办法把这么大的南瓜带回家。
突然她看见一只狗熊骑着一辆自行车朝她这边来。她看着自行车，跳着说："有了!我有办法了。我可以把南瓜滚回家去。南瓜好像车轮。
于是她把那瓜滚回家。当她妈妈看到这只大南瓜的时候，很惊讶："天啊!这么食的南瓜!你是怎么把它带回家来的?"小熊猫自豪地说;"我拎不动它，可是我能滚动它啊!"她妈妈微笑着说："真聪明啊!记住：只要你肯动脑筋，没有难办的事。"
