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2019年上半年大学英语四级阅读理解：foster homes
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 herand 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.
练习题：
Choose correct answers to the question:
1. 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.
2. 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
3. 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
4. Kimberly had been given to Mr. Mays
A. by sheer accident
B. out of charity
C. at his request
D. for better care
5. The author’s attitude towards the judge’s ruling could be described as
A. doubtful
B. Critical
C. cautious
D. supportive
1.[B] 推理判断题。根据第2段最后一句“女孩被判给她认识的父亲，即养父，而非生父”以及全文的最后一句中all the rights of children,可以推断,该判决是从孩子本身的利益出发的，故选B而排除A。
2.[A] 事实细节题。根据倒数第2段最后一句“金伯莉不仅仅是大人们觉得合适就可以随意处置的“财产”可知a与该句相符，其中的personal possessions为原文中property的同义表达。
3.[C] 事实细节题。第4段第2、3句指出“金伯莉的亲生父母，欧内斯特和里贾纳·特维格，......医学测试显示……金伯莉才是他们的孩子，从而引发了特维格夫妇与罗伯特·梅斯之间的监护权争讼案”，由此可知，C与之相符。
4.[A] 事实细节题。第4段第1句提到，金伯莉·梅斯与另一名婴儿被阴差阳错地调换了，她们跟着不是自己亲生父母的人一起回了家，由此可知A正确。
5.[D] 观点态度题。在最后一段作者用But转折句说明自己的观点，即“但生身父母并不总是比养父母更合适”,可见作者是支持法官将金伯莉判给其养父的。
2019年上半年大学英语四级阅读理解：fairly skeptical
I’m usually fairly skeptical about any research that concludes that people are either happier or unhappier or more or less certain of themselves than they were 50 years ago. While any of these statements might be true, they are practically impossible to prove scientifically. Still, I was struck by a report which concluded that today’s children are significantly more anxious than children in the 1950s. In fact, the analysis showed, normal children ages 9 to 17 exhibit a higher level of anxiety today than children who were treated for mental illness 50 years ago.
Why are America’s kids so stressed? The report cites two main causes: increasing physical isolation—brought on by high divorce rates and less involvement in community, among other things—and a growing perception that the world is a more dangerous place.
Given that we can’t turn the clock back, adults can still do plenty to help the next generation cope.
At the top of the list is nurturing (培育) a better appreciation of the limits of individualism. No child is an island. Strengthening social ties helps build communities and protect individuals against stress.
To help kids build stronger connections with others, you can pull the plug on TVs and computers. Your family will thank you later. They will have more time for face-to-face relationships, and they will get more sleep.
Limit the amount of virtual (虚拟的) violence your children are exposed to. It’s not just video games andmovies; children see a lot of murder and crime on the local news.
Keep your expectations for your children reasonable. Many highly successful people never attended Harvard or Yale.
Make exercise part of your daily routine. It will help you cope with your own anxieties and provide a goodmodel for your kids. Sometimes anxiety is unavoidable. But it doesn’t have to ruin your life.
练习题：
Choose correct answers to the question:
1.The author thinks that the conclusions of any research about people’s state of mind are ________.
A. surprising
B. confusing
C. illogical
D. questionable
2. What does the author mean when he says, “we can’t turn the clock back” (Line 1, Para. 3)?
A. It’s impossible to slow down the pace of change.
B. The social reality children are facing cannot be changed.
C. Lessons learned from the past should not be forgotten.
D. It’s impossible to forget the past.
3.According to an analysis, compared with normal children today, children treated as mentallyill 50 years ago ________.
A. were less isolated physically
B. were probably less self-centered
C. probably suffered less from anxiety
D. were considered less individualistic
4.The first and most important thing parents should do to help their children is ______
A. to provide them with a safer environment
B. to lower their expectations for them
C. to get them more involved socially
D. to set a good model for them to follow
5.What conclusion can be drawn from the passage?
A. Anxiety, though unavoidable, can be coped with.
B. Children’s anxiety has been enormously exaggerated.
C. Children’s anxiety can be eliminated with more parental care.
D. Anxiety, if properly controlled, may help children become mature.
1.[D] 题目中的people’s state of mind就是本文第1句中either happier or unhappier or more or less certain of themselves。而对于这种研究，作者开门见山地表明自己的态度是skeptical怀疑的，因此该研究结论是questionable “可疑的”，故选D。
2.[B] 第3段说“虽然我们无法使时光倒流,但是我们成年人还是可以做很多事情来帮助下一代，使他们可以妥善应对”所以，“使时光倒流”实质上是改变孩子们现在所生活的环境，正确答案为B。
3.[C] 只要读懂第1段最后一句的比较结构:该分析显示，现在9到17岁的普通儿童比50年前接受精神病治疗的儿童所表现出来的焦虑不安程度还要高,此题答案就一目了然，即选C。
4.[C] 根据第4段开头的At the top of the list可知答案可在该段中寻得。由该段最后一句“加强社会联系有助于社区的建设,也有助于使个人免受压力的侵扰”可知正确答案为C。
5.[A] 根据文章最后两句“有时候焦虑是难免的,但它并不是非要毁掉你的生活不可”可知A说法与之相符，故选A。
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