北京师范大学网络教育———大学英语四作业二 及答案

第二部分：阅读理解（共10小题；每小题3分，满分30分）
Passage 1

    Most of us can find 15 minutes or half an hour each day for some specific regular activity. It may be a free period or a regular wait, say in the queue for a bus or meal --- even while eating breakfast. One famous surgeon always made it a rule to spend at least 15 minutes on general reading before he went to sleep each night. Whether he went to bed at 10 pm or 2:30 am made no difference. Even if you cannot keep to this kind of discipline, it is a good idea to make sure you always have a general interest book in your pocket. Don't forget it should be a book which entertains you and the English must not be too difficult for you.
     Nearly all "speed reading" courses have a "pacing" element --- some timing device which lets the student know how many words a minute he is reading. You can do this simply by looking at your watch every 5 or 10 minutes and noting down the page number you have reached. Check the average number of words per page for the particular book you are busy reading. Well, this is difficult at first. A friend can help by timing you over a set period, or you can read within hearing distance of a public clock which strikes the quarter hours. Pace yourself every three or four days, always with the same kind of easy, general interest book. You should soon notice your habitual w.p.m. rate creeping up.

第四部分：完形填空（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）

    Many of the world's pollution problems have been caused by the crowding of large groups of people into cities. Satisfying the 21 of the people leads to further polluting by industry. If the rapid increase in human population 22 at the present rate (比率), there may be much greater harm. Some scientists speak of the 23 in number of people as "Population Pollution".
     About 2000 years ago, the world 24 was probably about 250 million. It reached a billion in 1850. By 1930 the population was two billion. It is 25 three and a half billion. It is 　expected to double by the year 2000. If the population continues to grow at the same 26 , there would be 25 billion people in the world a hundred years from now.
     Man has been using the earth's 27 more and more rapidly over the years. Some of them are almost gone. Now many people believe that man's greatest 28 is how to control the growth of this population. The materials in the world will not support the human population in time to come if the present rate of increase continues. 29 there is over crowding in the cities and hunger in some countries. Can man's rate of increase continue?
     Many people believe that human survival (幸存者) in the future 30 on the answer to the question.