自考英语是指参加全国高等教育自学英语专业的考试，主要是培养具有扎实的英语语言基础和比较广泛的科学文化知识，能在外事、经贸、文化、新闻出版、教育、科研、旅游等部门从事翻译、研究、教学、管理工作的英语高级专门人才。上学吧自考英语题库是专门为自考英语专业的考生提供刷题服务的，相信考生在不断地坚持刷题练习中定会有所收获。现在就点击安装APP刷题。以下为试卷的详细内容：
一、CAREFUL READING参考答案见试卷末尾
1、Queen Elizabeth II's pronunciation of English has been infected by her subjects. Aussie scientists say.
Phoneticists from Sydney's Macquarie University studied archive recordings of the Queen's annual Christmas message to the Commonwealth from the 1950s to 1980s, analyzing her Majesty's towels. They then compared those vowels with the standard accent of southern England, as used by female British broadcasters on the BBC in the 1980s, to see how the royal accent had changed. Their conclusion: the cut-glass speech of the early years of the Queen's reign has become—how shall we say—somewhat commoner over the years.
That in itself subtly mirrors the changes is Britain, from a country with a rigid social hierarchy four decades ago to one where class differences have blurred and in some areas disappeared.
"The Queen's pronunciation of some vowels has been influenced by the standard southern -British accent of the 1980s which is more typically associated with speakers who are younger and lower in the social hierarchy," the researchers say.
Standard speech in southern England has been influenced by Cockneys, whose accent was initiated by Dick Van Dyke in the Walt Disney movie "Mary Poppins". Purists will be reassured that the Queen's "Hice (house) of Windsor" will not become the "Ouse of Windsor" (by dropping the'h') in the foreseeable future. However, there have been changes in .10 out of the 11 vowel sounds in the standard English.
These changes bring her speech closer to that of her Cockney subjects,the researchers found. An example of this is the way in which she pronounces "had". In the 1950s, the royal pronunciation of this word almost rhymed with "bed". But 30 years later, it had migrated halfway to the standard southern English pronunciation, which rhymes "had" with "bad". The Australian team say the pronunciation of all languages alters subtly over time, mainly because of influence from the young, and it is foolish for anyone to try to prevent change. "The chances of societies and academies successfully preserving a particular form. of pronunciation against the influence of community and social changes are unlikely," they say. The research was published December 21 in Nature, the British science weekly.Which of the following best states the main idea of the passage? ( )
A.The pronunciation of all languages changes Subtly over time.
B.It is not always easy to preserve a particular form of pronunciation.
C.The Queen's English has become commoner.
D.Class differences have blurred and even disappeared.
2、Who did the research into the Queen's pronunciation? ( )
A．An Australian research group.
B．Phoneticians from a British University.
C．A British science weekly.
D．The BBC broadcasters.
3、The Queen's pronunciation of Some vowels has been influenced by ( )
A．female British broadcasters on the BBC in the 1980s
B．the social changes in Britain in the 1980s
C．the standard speech in southern England
D．her subjects in the Commonwealth countries
4、By saying that the change in the Queen's English mirrors the social changes in Britain, the writer means . ( )
A．the rigid social hierarchy 40 years ago has collapsed
B．the Queen's accent has been influenced by the lower class
C．the Queen's accent is associated with the younger speakers
D．the social differences in Britain are no longer as distinct as before
5、According to the passage, which of the following is not stated? ( )
A．The researchers analyzed the Queen's vowels to see how the royal accent had changed.
B．The researchers found that the Queen's accent is closer to that of her Cockney subjects.
C．It is unlikely to preserve a particular accent against social changes and influence of community.
D．The change in the pronunciation of a particular language is closely associated with the Royal speech.
6、Who takes care of the elderly in the United States today? The fact is that family members provide over 80% of the care that elderly people need. In most cases the elderly live in their own homes, a very small percentage of America's elderly live in nursing homes.
Samuel Preston, a sociologist at the University of Pennsylvania, studied how the American family is changing. He reported that by the time the average American couple reaches about 40 years of age,their parents are usually still alive. The statistics show the change in lifestyles and responsibilities of aging Americans. The average middle-aged couple can look forward to caring for elderly parents sometime after their own children have grown up. Moreover, because people today live longer after an illness than people did years ago, family members must provide long term care. These facts also mean that after caregivers provide for their elderly parents,who will eventually die, they will be old and may require care too. When they do, their spouses (配偶) will probably take care of them because they have had fewer children than their parents did.
Because Americans are living longer than ever, more social workers have begun to study ways of care giving to improve the care of the elderly. They have found that all caregivers share a common characteristic:They believe that they are the best people for the job. The social workers have also discovered three basic reasons why the caregivers take on the responsibility of caring for an elderly, dependent relative. Many caregivers believe they had an obligation (职责)to help their relatives. Some think that helping others makes them feel more useful. Others hope that by helping someone now, they will deserve care when they become old and dependent.Samuel Preston' s study shows that______ . ( )
A.lifestyles and responsibilities of the elderly are not changing
B.most American couples over 40 have no living parents
C.middle aged Americans have to take care of their children and parents at the same time
D.elderly people may need care for a long time because they live longer after an illness
7、Who will most probably take care of the middle-aged Americans when they need care themselves? ( )
A．They themselves.
B．Their close friends.
C．Their children.
D．Their husbands or wives.
8、All caregivers believe that they can______. ( )
A．care for their elderly parents better than any other people
B．keep closer to their old parents by this means
C．do much better if they have a job as social workers
D．improve the care of the elderly with the help of the social workers
9、Which of the following is not a reason why people look after their relatives? ( )
A．They feel they are of use to other people.
B．They want to set an example to their children.
C．They think it is their duty to help their relatives.
D．They hope they deserve care when they need it.
10、What is the main idea of the passage? ( )
A．Most old people live longer today after an illness than people did years age.
B．Many old people are put into nursing homes by their families, who do not visit them regularly.
C．Most elderly people are taken care of by their families, who assume the responsibility for different reasons.
D．Most elderly people are satisfied with the better ways of care giving that social workers have come up with.
11、One of the major causes of the prevalent anxiety about the future of the family is rooted not so much in actuality as in the tension between idealized expectations for the family in American culture and the reality itself. Nostalgia for a lost nonexistent family tradition has prejudiced our understanding of the changes that families are experiencing in contemporary society. Furthermore, the current anxiety over the family' s fate reflects not merely problems in the family itself, but a variety of other social problems that are eventually projected on the family. The real problems that the American family is facing today are not symptoms of breakdown, as is often suggested. Rather they reflect the difficulties that the family faces in its adaptation to recent social changes, particularly in the loss of the flexibility in household membership that the family had in the past, the reduction of the variety of its functions, and to some extent the weakening of its adaptability. Current anxieties also reflect the difficulties that American society has been experiencing in accepting a great diversity in family life and alternative family forms. The idealization of the family as a refuge from the outside world has lessened its ability to cope with diversity. The continuous emphasis on the family as a universal private retreat and as an emotional haven (安息 所)is misguided in light of our knowledge of the past. Early American families fulfilled a broad array of functions that went beyond its more restricted emotional functions in the present. Most of the family's roles in the past were intertwined with larger community. Rather than being the custodian (管理人) of privacy, the family prepared its members for interaction with the larger society. Family relationships were valued not merely for their emotional content but for a wide range of services and contributions to the collective family unit.We can infer from the passage that______ . ( )
A．lots of people are worried about the future of family
B．people's anxiety about the future of family is based on facts
C．the breakdown of modem family is a reality we have to accept
D．our understanding of the changes in families is correct
12、According to the passage, family tradition______ . ( )
A．existed in the past but has now lost
B．has never actually existed
C．will be lost in the future
D．has been a tradition in America
13、The problems the American family faces reflect all the following EXCEPT______. ( )
A．lack of flexibility
B．decrease of functions
C．nostalgia caused by anxiety
D．weakening of adaptability
14、According to the author, one of people's misunderstandings of family is that______. ( )
A．the problems of family also reflect social problems
B．American family life should be as diverse as it used to be
C．American family form is no longer as alternative as it was
D．family is regarded as a private retreat and an emotional haven
15、According to the passage, early American families were more______ . ( )
A．isolated than modern families are today
B．private than modern families are now
C．closely connected with community than modern families are
D．emotionally oriented than modern families are
二、SPEED READING参考答案见试卷末尾
1、The crew of a clipper ship had to work together smoothly to keep the ship sailing. To help, they sang work songs called sea chanteys.
The chanteyman sang out the verses. They set the rhythm for the work to be done. The chanteyman made up his own lines, and the men joined in the chorus. The songs were about sailing, fishing, love, war, anything and everything. The men heaved or pulled the ropes on the beat of the chorus.
Different rhythms were necessary for different shipboard jobs. There were slow capstan chanteys sung while turning the capstan, a large wheel on deck used to pull up the anchor. There were halyard chanteys sung while pulling up the sails. Pumping chanteys were sung, when the sailors manned the pumps amidships, and short-haul chanteys were sung for any job that required quick, sharp pulls.Sailing a clipper ship called for______ . ( )
A.a great many songs from the sailors
B.smooth action by the crew
C.teamwork on many jobs
D.both B and C
2、The underlined "chorus" implies that______ . ( )
A．man, no matter who he is, should work with the spirit of teamwork
B．whatever we are doing, we can sing a song together
C．only the crew of a clipper ship need to sing a chorus when they are working
D．chorus is a way of entertainment for sailors to relax themselves
3、The rhythms of the chanteys varied because______. ( )
A．different jobs required different rhythms
B．some chantey men sang in different rhythms
C．sailors worked at different speeds
D．some jobs required the work of many sailors
4、According to the passage, which of the following statements is true? ( )
A．When turning the capstan, men sang slow capstan chanteys.
B．When pulling up the sails, pumping chanteys were sung.
C．When the sailors manned the pumps amidships, they sang halyard chanteys.
D．Sailors never sang any chantey when they were working.
5、Sailors working with sharp, quick pulls would probably have sung a ______. ( )
A．slow capstan chantey
B．halyard chantey
C．short-haul chantey
D．pumping chantey
6、The great power of tornadoes is almost unbelievable. The speed of this whirling funnel shaped wind may be more than 500 miles per hour. It can tear up trees, carry buildings away, and can even lift large trucks off the highway. The tornado is like a giant vacuum sweeper that sucks up anything in its path. Experts believe that the most violent force of a tornado is found inside the funnel, where a vacuum is created because of very low air pressure. When this vacuum moves over a building which is filled with air under normal pressure, the difference between the air pressure inside the building and that outside causes the building to explode. The largest tornado on record had a funnel a mile wide.
There are many interesting stories about the strange things that tornadoes have done in the U. S. Common wheat straw has been driven several inches into posts and trees. Buildings have been turned completely around on their foundations and have remained intact. People and animals have been carried hundreds of feet, often suffering no physical harm. Feathers have been removed from chickens. Cars, trucks, and even whole freight trains have been carried away.
A tornado does not last long, about 20 to 30 minutes on the average. Usually it destroys an area about 16 miles long and the great damage that it does in one place last only about 30 seconds. Tornadoes normally occur on hot, humid days but not necessarily in the summer. The biggest and most destructive tornado in the U. S. struck on March 18,1925. Roaring along at a speed of 60 miles per hour, it swept clean a path a mile wide across the states of Missouri, Illinois, and Indian. In its 220 mile long journey across these three states, the tornado killed 689 people. More than 200 tornadoes strike in the United States every year. It is not possible to predict when a tornado will strike although the U. S. Weather Bureau gives storm warnings when conditions are right to cause a tornado. The safest place to be if a tornado seems likely is in some underground area such as a cellar or a basement.Low air pressure inside funnel of a tornado creates a______. ( )
A.tension
B.vacuum
C.wind
D.speed
7、A tornado may reach a speed of more than______ . ( )
A．500 miles per hour
B．700 miles per hour
C．100 miles per hour
D．50 miles per hour
8、The most favorable kind of weather for a tornado is______. ( )
A．dry and dusty
B．cold and windy
C．cloudy and rainy
D．hot and humid
9、The largest recorded tornado funnel was______ . ( )
A．1 mile
B．6 miles
C．10 miles
D．18 mile
10、Which place(s) is the safest place to stay if a tornado seems to happen? ( )
A．On the playground.
B．In some underground area.
C．Beside the river.
D．Stay at one's own home.
参考答案：
【一、CAREFUL READING】
1~5 CABDD 6~10 DDABC
11~15点击安装“英语专业自考APP”查看答案
【二、SPEED READING】
1~5 DAAAC 6~10 BADA
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