2006年4月英语三级考试真题及答案 Part I Reading Comprehension (30%)Directions: There are three passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. You should decide on the best choice and blacken the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet.Passage 1Questions 1 to 5 are based on the following passage:In the United States elementary education begins at the age of six. At this stage nearly ail the teachers are women, mostly married. (76) The atmosphere is usually very friendly, and the teachers have now accepted the idea that the important thing is to make the children happy and interested. The old authoritarian (要绝对服从的) methods of education were discredited (不被认可) rather a long time ago - so much so that many people now think that they have gone too far in the direction of trying to make children happy and interested rather than giving them actual instruction.The social education of young children tries to make them accept the idea that human beings in a society need to work together for their common good. So the emphasis is on co-operation rather than competition throughout most of this process. This may seem curious, in view of the fact that American society is highly competitive; however, the need for making people sociable in this sense has come to be regarded as one of the functions of education. Most Americans do grow up with competitive ideas, and obviously quite a few as criminals, but it is not fair to say that the educational system fails. It probably does succeed in making most people sociable and ready to help one another both in material ways and through kindness and friendliness.1. According to the passage, the U.S. elementary education is supposed to make children_.A. sensible and sensitive B. competitive and interestedC. curious and friendly D. happy and co-operative2. Some Americans complain about elementary schools because they think_.A. children are reluctant to help each otherB. schools lay too much emphasis on co-operationC. children should grow up with competitive ideasD. schools give little actual instruction to children3. The authors attitude towards American education can be best described as_.A. favorable B. negativeC. tolerant D. unfriendly4. The American educational system emphasizes_.A. material wealth B. competitionC. co-operation D. personal benefit5. The word sociable (Line 8, Paragraph 2) most probably means_.A. fond of talking freelyB. friendly with other peopleC. concerned about social welfareD. happy at schoolPassage 2Questions 6 to 10 are based on the following passage:Nonverbal (非语言的) communication has to do with gestures, movements and closeness of two people when they are talking. (77) The scientists say that those gestures, movements and so on have meaning which words do not carry.For example, the body distance between two speakers can be important. North Americans often complain that South Americans are unfriendly because they tend to stand close to the North American when speaking, while the South American often considers the NorthAmerican to be cold or distant because he keeps a greater distance between himself and the person he is speaking to. The eye contact provides another example of what we are calling nonverbal communication. Scientists have observed that there is more eye contact between people who like each other than there is between people who dont like each other. (78) The length of time that the person whom you are speaking to looks at your eyes indicates the amount of interest he has in the things you are talking about.On the other hand, too long a gaze can make people uncomfortable. The eyes apparently play a great part in nonverbal communication. Genuine warmth or interest, shyness or confidence can often be seen in the eyes. We do not always consider a smile to be a sign of friendliness. Someone who is always smiling, and with little apparent reasons, often makes us uneasy.6. According to the passage, nonverbal communication_.A. is a method often used by people who cannot speakB. can tell something that words cannotC. can be used to talk with people who cannot bearD. is less used than words7. The South American_.A. tends to keep a distance between himself and the person he is speaking toB. usually stands close to the person he is talking toC. is often unfriendly when spoken toD. is often cold and distant when speaking8. Which of the following is NOT true?A. Less eye contact suggests distance in relation.B. The longer one looks at you, the more interest he has in you.C. There is more eye contact between people who like each other.D. Shorter eye contact sho