2008考研英语全题型高分强化教程(10)

II. Reading Passages

Part A 阅读理解

Passage One 

Various accounts have traced the "Big Apple" expression to Depression-Era sidewalk apple vendors, a Harlem night club and a popular 1930s dance known as the "Big Apple." One fanciful version even links the name with a notorious 19th-century procuress!

In fact, it was the jazz musicians of the 1930s and ‘40s who put the phrase into more or less general circulation. If a jazzman circa 1940 told you he had a gig in the "Big Apple," you knew he had an engagement to play in the most coveted venue of all, Manhattan, where the audience was the biggest, hippest, and most appreciative in the country.

The older generation of jazzmen specifically credit Fletcher Henderson, one of the greatest of the early Big Band leaders and arrangers, with popularizing it, but such things are probably impossible to document.Be that as it may, the ultimate source actually was not the jazz world but the racetrack.

As Damon Runyon (among many others) cheerfully pointed out, New York in those days offered a betting man a lot of places to go broke. There were no fewer than four major tracks nearby, and it required no fewer than three racing journals to cover such a lively scene-The Daily Racing Form (which still survives on newsstands today) and The Running Horse and The New York Morning Telegraph (which do not)-and the ultimate credit for marrying New York to its durable catchphrase goes to columnist John J. FitzGerald who wrote for the Telegraph for over 20 years.

Despite its turf-related origins, by the 1930s and '40s, the phrase had become firmly linked to the city's jazz scene. "Big Apple" was the name both of a popular night club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem and a jitterbug-style group dance that originated in the South, became a huge phenomenon at Harlem's great Savoy Ballroom and rapidly spread across the country. (Neat cultural footnote: the great African-American cinema pioneer Oscar Micheaux liked to use the Big Apple as a venue for occasional screenings of his latest feature film or documentary.)

A film short called The Big Apple came out in 1938, with an all-Black cast featuring Herbert "Whitey" White's Lindy Hoppers, Harlem's top ballroom dancers in the Swing Era. In a book published the same year, bandleader Cab Calloway used the phrase "Big Apple" to mean "the big town, the main stem, Harlem." Anyone who loved the city would have readily agreed with Jack FitzGerald: "There's only one Big Apple. That's New York."

The term had grown stale and was in fact generally forgotten by the 1970s. Then Charles Gillett, head of the New York Convention & Visitors Bureau, got the idea of reviving it. The agency was desperately trying to attract tourists to the town. Mayor John Lindsay had dubbed "Fun City," but which had become better-known for its blackouts, strikes, street crime and occasional riots. What could be a more wholesome symbol of renewal than a plump red apple?

The city's industrial-strength campaign was launched toward the end of the Lindsay administration in 1971, complete with a cheerful Big Apple logo in innumerable forms (lapel pins, buttons, bumper stickers, refrigerator magnets, shopping bags, ashtrays, ties, tie tacks, "Big Apple" T-shirts, etc.).

Apparently Gillett was on to something, because at this writing, over 35 years later, the campaign he launched-it won him a Tourism Achievement award in 1994, by the way-is still going strong.

1. Read the first paragraph and then choose the correct one.

[A] "Big Apple" is a name of New York.
[B] There are many reasons for the name "Big Apple".
[C] People are likely to call New York City "Big Apple".
[D] The name "Big Apple" is a name of New York City in the history.

2. According to the author, what's the reason for the name "Big Apple"?

[A] He thought that the name "Big Apple" could not be traced as many people's saying.
[B] He thought that the name "Big Apple" was something about jazz musicians.
[C] He thought that initially the name "Big Apple" was a name for Manhattan, not for New York City.
[D] He thought that the name "Big Apple" was named by jazz musicians.

3. According to Cab Calloway's book, what's the meaning of the phrase "Big Apple"?

[A] A name of club in his book.
[B] A name of drama mentioned in his book.
[C] It meant the big town, the main stem, Harlem.
[D] It was just a name and had no means.

4. How did they revive the name "Big Apple" by the 1970s?

[A] By announced a new slogan.
[B] By announce that a plump red apple is a symbol of health.
[C] By put an end to New York's occasional riots.
[D] By put an end to New York's street crimes.

5. What's the industrial-strength campaign's effect which was launched toward the end of the Lindsay administration in 1971?

[A] It led to a trend of widely used of the phrase "Big Apple".
[B] It made the phrase "Big Apple" have new meanings.
[C] The campaign is good for the reviving of the name "Big City".
[D] The campaign lead to the name's widely use which was good for its reviving.

Passage Two

There is a bitter battle over how to combat the nation's fastest-growing crime problem, juvenile offenders. While overall crime statistics in America's largest cities has dropped there is one category where it has skyrocketed. That category is homicides committed by youths under the age of 17. Between 1984 and 1994, murders committed by youths under 17 tripled. Demographic studies show that there will be a surge in the teen population in the coming years and experts believe that 25 percent of all murders committed by the year 2005 will be committed by juveniles.

Violence (i.e. Aggravated assaults) committed with guns by youths has also increased at roughly the same pace as homicides. After years of statistical decline, drug use by teens is also on the rise. None of these statistics would appear to bode well for future.

It now seems that everyday we are hearing about horrendous violent crimes being committed by juveniles. The most famous of late was the 6-year-old in northern California who almost beat to death a small baby. The baby was just released from the hospital on Thursday and has suffered brain damage from the attack by the 6-year-old.

There is also the case of the 15-year-old pregnant girl who was shot to death by another student in St. Louis. In Miami, two 16-year-old males have been charged with the murder of a Dutch woman tourist who just happened to end up in the wrong neighborhood. A 15-year-old New York boy tried to steal a pair of earrings from a woman. During the attack, the young woman fell to her death under a New York subway train.

In Fort Meyers, Florida, a group of teenagers shot and killed a high school band teacher. This case will be the subject of an upcoming ENN report, but a police investigation into this group of teens turned up "would-be junior terrorists" that could have rivaled some of the worst terrorist organizations in the world.

There seems to be growing awareness now of this juvenile crime problem in the United States. Several experts, as well as this publication, have been trying very hard to get the word out. People who have become victims of these young felons are angry and are calling for changes to be made in the juvenile justice system.

It has been a long-standing belief in the United States that juveniles who kill, rape and rob be treated differently than adult offenders. But this may soon change. In 1899, juvenile courts were established to help protect "juvenile delinquents." But it seems that today, the reasoning for the protection of the youths in the criminal justice system may be outdated and changes need to be made to accomodate these "14-year-old harden felons." Many critics, today, say that in reality too many hard-core juvenile offenders are arrested held and released time-after-time in a process that is called a revolving door. It seems to only come to an end when a truly heinous crime is committed.

Because of the rise in juvenile crime and the experts predictions that the problem is going to get worse before it gets better, many cities, states and even congress are trying to wrestle with the problem. Tallahassee, Florida has been experimenting with a couple of different programs to deal with troubled youths. In one case, Tallahassee Police received a report of a teenager breaking into an auto. Immediately, officers knew their suspect. The suspect was a 16-year-old who even held a job at a near-by restaurant. This 16-year-old who was on parole, had been known to commit 32 similar offenses. Officers had kept the suspect tracked on a point scale. He was arrested after he barricaded himself inside an apartment building. Because of his extensive criminal record prosecutors immediately sent him to trial in an adult court. This can be called the "get-tough" approach.

1. As you read the first paragraph, which kind of crimes are increasing while the crime statistics in America's largest cities has dropped?

[A] Homicides committed by youths.
[B] Murders committed by adults.
[C] Drug abuse.
[D] Violation.

2. Read the third paragraph carefully and then answer the question: What happened to the "6-year-old"?

[A] The "6-year-old" had been killed.
[B] The "6-year-old" had almost killed another small baby.
[C] The "6-year-old" had been sent to prison.
[D] The "6-year-old" had suffered brain damage.

3. What thing will be report by ENN?

[A] A high school teacher had been killed by a group of teenagers.
[B] Junior terrorists.
[C] The case of the 15-year-old pregnant girl who was shot to death by another student in St. Louis.
[D] Both A and B.

4. Who called for changes to be made in the juvenile justice system?

[A] Journalists came from Florida.
[B] The parents came from the juvenile's families.
[C] Teachers came from the juvenile's school.
[D] The victims of these young felons.

5. As the author use the example of the case of Tallahassee, what did he mean?

[A] To illustrate the importance of changes that should be made in the juvenile justice system.
[B] To state that teenagers who committed crimes should be sent to trial in an adult court.
[C] To express that the old law was not fit for the new phenomenon.
[D] To express that the author hated the juvenile crimes.