职称英语《综合类C》真题精选四

Kicking the Habit
What is a bad habit?The most common definition is that it is something that we do regularly,almost without thinking about it,and which has some sort of negative consequence.This consequence could affect those around us,or it could affect us personally.Those who deny having bad habits are probably lying.Bad habits are part of what makes us human.
Many early habits,like sucking our thumb,are broken when we are very young.We are either told to stop doing it by our parents,or we consciously or subconsciously observe that others do not have the same habit,and we gradually grow out of it.It is when we intentionally or unintentionally pick up new habits in our later childhood or early adulthood that it becomes a problem.Unless we can break that habit early on,it becomes a part of our life,and becomes"programmed"into our brain.
A recent study of human memory suggests that no matter how hard we try to change our habits,it is the old ways that tend to win,especially in situations where we are rushed,stressed or overworked.Habits that we thought we had got rid of can suddenly come back.During the study programme,the researchers showed a group of volunteers several pictures,and gave them words to associate with them.They then showed the volunteers the same pictures again,and gave them new words to associate with them.
A few days later,the volunteers were given a test.The researchers showed them the pictures,and told them to respond with one of the words they had been given for each one.It came as no surprise that their an-swers were split between the first set of words and the second.Two weeks later,they were given the same test again.This time,most of them only gave the first set of.words.They appeared to have completely forgotten the second set.
The study confirms that the responses we learn first are those that remain strongest over time.We may try to change our ways,hut after a while,the response that comes to mind first is usually the first one we learned.The more that response is used,the more automatic it becomes and the harder it becomes to respond in any other way.
The study therefore suggests that over time,our had habits also become automatic,learned behavior.
This is not good news for people who picked up bad habits early in life and now want to change or break them.Even when we try to put new,good intentions into practice,those previously learned habits remain stronger in more automatic,unconscious forms of memory.

Pedestrians Only
1 The concept of traffic-free shopping areas goes back a long time.During the Middle Ages,traffic-free shopping areas were built in Middle Eastern countries to allow people to shop iii comfort and,more im-portantly,safety.As far back as 2,000 years ago,road traffic was banned from central Rome during the day to allow for the free movement of pedestrians（行人）,and was only allowed inl at night when shops and mar-kets had closed for the day.In most other cities,however,pedestrians were forced to share the streets with horses,coaches and,later,with cars and other motorised vehicles.
2 The modern,traffic-free shopping street was born in Europe in the l960s,when both city popula-tions and car ownership increased rapidly.Dirty gases from cars and the risks involved,in crossing the road were beginning to make shopping an unpleasant and dangerous experience.Many believed the time was right for experimenting with car-free streets,and shopping areas seemed the best place to start.
3 At first,there was resistance from shopkeepers.They believed that such a move would be bad for business.They argued that people would avoid streets if they were unable to get to them in their cars.When the first streets in Europe were closed to traffic,there were even noisy demonstrations,as many shopkeepers predicted they would.lose customers.
4 However,research carried out afterwards in several European cities revealed some unexpected statistics.
In Munich,Cologne and Hamburg,visitors to shopping areas increased by 50 percent.On Copenhagen's main shopping street,shopkeepers reported sales increases of 25-40 percent.Shopkeepers in Minneapolis,the USA,were so impressed when they learnt this that they even offered to pay for the construction and maintenance costs of their own traffic-free streets.
5 With the arrival of the traffic-free shopping street,many shops,especially those selling things like clothes,food and smaller luxury items,prospered.Unfortunately,it isn't good news for everyone,as shops selling furniture and larger electrical appliances,etc.actually saw their sales drop.Many of these were forced to move elsewhere,away from the city centre.

第一篇
An Expensive Mistake
Is there water on the planet Mars? Is there life on Mars?Was there ever life on Mars?Scientists from NASA wanted to know the answers to tliese questions.They built a spacecraft to travel around Mars and get informnation.The spacecraft was called the Mars Climate orbiter.
The Mars Climate Orbiter left for Mars iii December 1998.The trip took nine and a half months.At first,everything was fine.However.when the Orbiter got near Mars,something terrible happened.The spacecraft didn't go to the right place.It went too close to Mars.it was too hot for the Orbiter there.The spacecraft couldn't function correctly.Suddenly,it stopped sending messages to NASA.The Orbiter was lost.
How could this terrible thing happen? How did the Orbiter get closer to Mars than the scientists planned? Finally,they found the anlswer.Two teams of scientists worked together on the Orbiter.One team was in England,and one teann was in the United States.There were many similarities in the way they worked,but there was one important difference:The teams used different guidelines for measuring things.The United States team used the metric systcnni（公制）.The oilier team used the English system.
Because they used different systems,the scientists made a mathematical mistake.The Orbiter's orbit (the shape and pattern of its path)around Mars was not correct.The scientists put the Orbiter on the wrong path.The Orbiter got too close amid too hot,and it stopped functioning.
Why didn't anybody see the mistake before it was too late?Many things contributed to the problem.
One thing was that NASA scientists and mathematicians were working on two other spacecrafts at the same time.This was a challenge,and they were very tired from working long hours.
The Mars Climate Orbiter cost $94 million to build.It also cost a lot of money to try to find the lost Or-biter in space.In addition,NASA's research on the cause of the problem was very expensive.This wasn't the first time that two different measurement systems caused mistakes in scientific projects.However,the Mars Climate Orbiter was definitely the most expensive mistake of all!

第二篇
The Development of Ballet
Ballet is a dance form that has a long history.The fact that it survives to this day shows that it has adjus-ted as times have changed.
Ballet began in the royal courts during the Renaissance?At that time it became common for kings and queens,as well as other nobility,to participate in pageants that included music,poetry,and dance.As these entertainments moved from the Italian courts to the French ones,court ladies began participating in them.Though their long dresses prevented much movement,they were able to perform elaborate walking pat-terns.It was not until the 1600s that women dancers shortened their skirts,changed to flat shoes,and began doing some of the leaps and turns performed by men.
It was also in the 1600s that professional ballet began.King Louis XIV of France,himself a devoted dancer,founded the Royal Academy of Dance.The five basic feet positions from which all ballet steps begin were finalized.In the late 1700s another important change occurred.Ballet began to tell a story on its own.It was no longer simply dance to be performed between acts of plays.Elaborate wigs and costumes were elimina-ted.By the early 1800s dancers learned to rise on their toes to make it appear that they were floating.
Classical ballet as we know it today was influenced primarily by Russian dancing.The Russians re-mained interested in ballet when it declined in other European countries in the mid-1800s.One of the most influential figures of the early 20th century was Sergei Diaghilev.His dance company,the Ballets Russes,brought a new energy and excitement to ballet.One of his chief assistants,George Balanchine,went on to found the New York City Ballet in 1948 and to influence new generations of dancers.

第三篇
Operation Migration
If you look up at the sky in the early fall in the northern part of North America,you may see groups of birds.These birds are flying south to places where they can find food and warmth for the winter.They are migrating（迁徙）.The young birds usually learn to migrate from their parents.They follow their parents south.In one unusual case,however,the young birds are following something very different.These birds
are young whooping cranes and they are following an airplane!
The whooping crane is the largest bird that is native to North America.These birds almost disappeared in the 1 800s.By 1941,there were only about 20 cranes alive.In the 1970s,people were worried that these creatures were in danger of disappearing completely.As a result,the United States identified whooping cranes as an endangered species that they needed to protect.
Some researchers tired to help.They began to breed whooping cranes in special parks to increase the number of birds.This plan was successful,There were a lot of new baby birds.As the birds became older,the researchers wanted to return them to nature.However,there was a problem:these young birds did not know how to migrate,They needed human help.
In 2001,some people had a creative idea.They formed an organization called Operation Migration.
This group decided to use very light airplanes,instead of birds,to lead the young whooping cranes on their first trip south.They painted each airplane to look like a whooping crane.Even the pilots wore special clothing to make them look like cranes.The cranes began to trust the airplanes,and the plan worked.
Today,planes still lead birds across approxlmately 1,200 mniles(1,931 kilometers),from the United States-Canadian border to the Gulf of Mexico.They leave the birds at different sites.If a trip is successful,the birds can travel on their own in the future.Then,when these birds become parents,they will teach their young to migrate.The people of Operation Migration think this is the only way to maintain the whlooping crane population.
Operation Migration works with several other organizations and government institutes.Together,they as-sist hundreds of cranes each year.However,some experts predict that soon this won't be necessary.Thanks to Operation Migration and its partners,the crane population will continue to migrate.Hopefully,they won't need human help any more.

A Doctor in the House
Brushing your teeth twice a day should keep the dentist away.But if a group of scientific researchers have their wish,it will make the rest of your body healthy too._____(46)It is one of many gadgets （小装置）proposed by engineers and doctors at the Center for Future Health in New York一others include a pair of glasses that help to jog your memory,and a home camera designed to check for cancer.
The devices seem fanciful,but the basic principles are simple.The gadgets should make it easy for peo-pie to detect illness long before it strikes and so seek treatment far earlier than normal.________(47)In the long run,the technology may even prevent illness by encouraging us to lead healthier lives.
Intelligent bandages（绷带）are a good example.Powerful sensors within the bandage could quickly identi行tiny amounts of bacteria in a wound and determine which antibiotics（抗生素）would work best.
_________(48) Socks are long overdue for t makeover.In the future they will be able to automatically detect the amount of pressure in your foot and alert you when an ulcer（溃疡）is coming up.
All the projects should have far-reaching implications,but the biggest single development is a melanoma （黑瘤）monitor designed to give early warnings of cancer.
_________ (49)If a problem is found,the sys-tem would advise you to get a check-up at your doctor's surgery.
If all this sounds troublesome,then help is at hand.___________(50)A standard computer would be able to understand your voice and answer questions about your symptoms in plain English and in a way which would calm your nerves.

Global Warming
Few people now question the reality of global warming and its effects on the world's climate.Many sci-entists_________（51)the blame for recent natural disasters on the increase _____ (52) the world'S temperatures and are convinced that,more than__________(53)before,the Earth is at________(54) from the forces of the wind,rain and sun._________(55)to them,global warming is making extreme weather events, _________(56)as hurricanes and droughts,even more ___________(57)and causing sea levels all around the world to ____________(58).
Environmental groups are putting ________(59)on governments to take action to reduce the ____________(60)of carbon dioxide which is given __________(61)by factories and power plants,thus attacking the problem at its source.They are in_____________(62)of more money being spent on research into solar,wind and wave energy devices,which could then replace existing power____________(63).
Some scientists,____________(64),believe that even if we stopped releasing carbon dioxide and other gases into the atmosphere tomorrow,we would have to wait_(65)hundred years to notice the re-? suits.Global warming,it seems,is here to stay.