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Test Five
1
The exact number of English words is not known. The large dictionaries have over half a million entries, but many of these are compound words (schoolroom, sugar bowl) or different derivatives of the same word (rare—rarely, rarefy), and a good many are obsolete words to help us read older literature. Dictionaries do not attempt to cover completely words that we can draw on: the informal vocabulary, especially slang, localism, the terms of various occupations and professions; words use only occasionally by scientists and specialists in many fields; foreign words borrowed for use in English; or many new words or new senses of words that come into use every year and that may or may not be used long enough to warrant being included. It would be conservative to say that there are over a million English words that any of us might meet in our listening and reading and that we may draw on in our speaking and writing.
Professor Seashore concluded that firstgraders enter school with at least 2,000 words and add 5,000 each year so that they leave high school with at least 80,000. These figures are for recognition vocabulary, the words we understand when we read or hear them. Our active vocabulary, the words we use in speaking and writing, is considerably smaller.
You cannot always produce a word exactly when you want it. But consciously using the words you recognize in reading will help get them into your active vocabulary. Occasionally in your reading pay particular attention to these words, especially when the subject is one that you might well write or talk about. Underline or make a list of words that you feel a need for and look up the less familiar ones in a dictionary. And then before very long find a way to use some of them.
Once you know how they are pronounced and what they stand for, you can safely use them.
1. In the author’s estimation, there are ____ words in English.
A. more than half a million B. at least 24,000
C. at least 80,000 D. more than a million
2. The word “obsolete” most probably means ____.
A. no longer in use B. profound
C. colorful or amusing D. common
3. One’s recognition vocabulary is ____.
A. less often used than his active vocabulary
B. smaller than his active vocabulary
C. as large as his active vocabulary
D. much larger than his active vocabulary
4. The author does not suggest getting recognition vocabulary into active vocabulary by ____.
A. making a list of words you need and looking up the new ones in a dictionary
B. everyday spending half an hour study the dictionary
C. consciously using the words you recognize in reading
D. trying to use the words you recognize
5. From this passage we learn that ____.
A. dictionaries completely cover the words we can make use of
B. “schoolroom” is used in the passage as an example of a specialized term
C. once you know how a word is pronounced and what it represents, you have turned it into your active word
D. active vocabulary refers to words we understand when we read and hear them
2
In the past, it was believed that depression was more prevalent among the poorer and less educated people, but that is not the case. The truth is, depression can afflict people from all walks of life, and often it hits the most ambitious, creative and conscientious. It is fallacious to think that people on the corporate rung of the social ladder are not prone(易于…) to this malady(疾病). In fact, executives and professionals who are burdened with mounting pressures in their work may succumb to all these pressures and become depressed. The suicide of Vincent Foster, Jr, anoted American lawyer and White House official is a case in point. Despite the glamour of his position, which many people thought enviable, he felt overburdened with pressures and decided to take the easy way out.
Studies show that people born later in this century have experienced much moredepression than those born earlier. In fact the rate of depression over the last two generations has increased tenfold. Experts theorize that it could be due to the fact that the younger generations have higher expectations from life and are therefore more likely to suffer from failure, disappointment and hence, depression.
Depression is easily recognisable. The depressed person feels sad or down in the dumps, and loses interest in even the most pleasurable activities. Moreover, he suffers from either significant gain or loss of weight, sleeplessness or over sleeping, sluggish movement and thinking, fatigue, feelings of guilt and worthlessness, impaired concentration and forgetfulness, and in extreme cases, the afflicted person may have suicidal tendencies. It is often believed that depression runs in the family, but this is not conclusively so, since there are cases where depressed persons do not have a history of depression in their families. Depression is often workrelated although at times it has its roots in family relations.
People who suffer from depression need not stay in the closet, since it is not a sin or a shame to be depressed. A prompt visit to a psychologist means prompt treatment and hence prompt recovery. Experts guarantee that depression is easily treatable, and in nip in the bud cases, the patient fully recovers in a few days, thanks to the variety of effective treatment available.
6. According to the author, depression ____.
A. affects the poor and poor educated people more than the rich and successful ones
B. seldom attacks executives
C. is not limited to any particular class of people
D. is caused by one’s ambition
7. Studies show depression ____.
A. is more common today than in the past decades
B. was more common in the old generations
C. increased ten times in the days of our parents and grandparents
D. afflicts only young people
8. Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE?
A. Very high expectations for the individual make him more prone to depression.B. A depressed person feels sad and dejected.
C. People need not attempt to hide their depression because it’s not a shameful thing.
D. Depression is hereditary
9. Depression can be easily cured ____.
A. if the patient is youngB. at the early stage of the diseaseC. when plants are in bud
D. if the patient goes to see a psychologist
10.The passage is mainly a ____.
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