Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage.
Professor Smith recently persuaded 35 people, 23 of them women, to keep a
diary of all their absent-minded actions for a fortnight. When he came to
analyse their embarrassing lapses ( 差错) in a scientific report, he was surprised
to find that nearly all of them fell into a few groupings, Nor did the lapses
appear to be entirely random (随机的).
One of the women, for instance, on leaving her house for work one morning
threw her dog her earrings and tried to fix a dog biscuit on her ear. “the
explanation for this is that the brain is like a computer,” explains the
professor. "People programme themselves to do certain activities regularly. It
was the woman's custom every morning to throw her dog two biscuits and then put
on her earrings. But somehow the action got reversed in the programme," About
one in twenty of the incidents the volunteers reported were these "programme
assembly failures,"
Altogether the volunteers logged 433 unintentional actions that they found
themselves doing -- an average of twelve each, There appear to be peak periods
in the day when we are at our zaniest (荒谬可笑的). These are two hours some time
between eight a.m. and noon, between four and six p.m. with a smaller peak
between eight and ten p.m. "Among men the peak seems to be when a changeover in
brain 'programmes' occurs, as for instance between going to and from work."
Women on average reported slightly more lapses -- 12.5 compared with 10.9 for
men m probably because they were more reliable reporters.
A startling finding of the research is that the absent-minded activity is
a hazard of doing things in which we are skilled. Normally, you would expect
that skill reduces the number of errors we make. But trying to avoid silly slips
by concentrating more could make things a lot worse m even dangerous.
31. In his study Professor Smith asked the subjects _________.
A) to keep track of people who tend to forget things
B) to report their embarrassing lapses at random
C) to analyse their awkward experiences scientifically
D) to keep a record of what they did unintentionally
32. Professor Smith discovered that _________.
A) certain patterns can be identified in the recorded incidents
B) many people were too embarrassed to admit their absent-mindedness
C) men tend to be more absent-minded than women
D) absent-mindedness is an excusable human weakness
33. "Programme assembly failures" (Line 6, Para. 2) refers to the
phenomenon that people _________.
A) often fail to programme their routines beforehand
B) tend to make mistakes when they are in a hurry
C) unconsciously change the sequence of doing things
D) are likely to mess things up if they are too tired
34. We learn from the third paragraph that _________.
A) absent-mindedness tends to occur during certain hours of the day
B) women are very careful to perform actions during peak periods
C) women experience more peak periods of absent-mindedness
D) men's absent-mindedness often results in funny situations
35. It can be concluded from the passage that _________.
A) people should avoid doing important things during peak periods of
lapses
B) hazards can be avoided when people do things they are good at
C) people should be careful when programming their actions
D) lapses cannot always be attributed to lack of concentration
Passage Four
Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage.
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 (收养孩子的家庭) because of parents who can't or won't care for them but refuse
to give up custody (监护) 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 her and 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 ( 起诉) 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.
36. 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.
37. 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
38. 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
39. Kimberly had been given to Mr. Mays _________.
A) by sheer accident
B) out of charity
C) at his request
D) for better care
40. The author's attitude towards the judge's ruling could be described as
_________.
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