2012年职称英语考试真题—综合类A级试题及答案：
第四部分：阅读理解（第31~45题，每题3分，共45分)
下面有3篇短文，每篇短文后有5道题。请根据短文内容，为每题确定1个最佳选项。
第一篇 Going Her Own Way
When she was twelve, Maria made her first important decision about the course of her life. She decided that she wanted to continue her education, Most girls from middle-class families chose to stay home after primary school，though some attended private Catholic "finishing" schools. There they learned a little about music，art，needlework，and how to make polite conversation. This was not the sort of education that interested Maria —or her mother. By this time，she had begun to take her studies more seriously. She read constantly and brought her books everywhere. One time she even brought her math book to the theater and tried to study in the dark.
Maria knew that she wanted to go on learning in a serious way. That meant attending the public high school，something that very few girls did. In Italy at the time，there were two types of high schools: the "classical" schools and the "technical" schools. In the classical schools，the students followed a very traditional program of studies，with courses in Latin and Greek language and literature，and Italian literature and history1. The few girls who continued studying after primary school usually chose these schools.
Maria，however，wanted to attend a technical school. The technical schools were more modem than the classical schools and they offered courses in modern languages，mathematics，science，and accounting2.Most people — including Maria's father — believed that girls would never be able to understand these subjects. Furthermore，they did not think it was proper for girls to study them.
Maria did not care if it was proper or not. Math and science were the subjects that interested her most. But before she could sign up for the technical school，she had to win her father' sapproval. She finally did，with her mother's help，though for many years after，there was tension in the family. Maria's father continued to oppose her plans，while her mother helped her.
In 1883，at age thirteen，Maria entered the "Regia Scuola Tecnica Michelangelo Buonarroti" in Rome. Her experience at this school is difficult for us to imagine. Though the courses included modern subjects，the teaching methods were very traditional. Learning consisted of memorizing long lists of facts and repeating them back to the teacher. Students were not supposed to ask questions or think for themselves in any way. Teachers were very demanding，discipline in the classroom was strict，and punishment was severe for those who failed to achieve or were disobedient.
31. Maria wanted to attend________.
A) private “finishing” school
B) school with Latin and Greek
C) technical high school
D)school for art and music
32. In those days, most Italian girls________.
A) went to classical schools
B) went to “finishing” schools
C) did not go to high school
D) went to technical schools
33. Maria’s father probably________.
A) had very modern views about women
B) had very traditional views about women
C) had no opinion about women
D) thought women could not learn Latin
34. High school teachers in Italy In those days were________.
A) very modern
B) very intelligent
C) quite scientific
D) quite strict
35. We can infer from this passage that __
A) girls usually attended private primary schools
B) only girls attended classical schools
C) girls did not like going to school
D) Maria was a girl of strong will
第二篇
Gross National Happiness
In the last century， new technology improved the lives of many people in many countries. However， one country resisted these changes. High in the Himalayan mountains of Asia， the kingdom of Bhutan remained separate. Its people and Buddhist（佛教)culture had not been affected for almost a thousand years. Bhutan， however， was a poor country. People died at a young age. Most of its people could not read， and they did not know much about the outside world. Then， in 1972， a new ruler named King Jigme Singye Wangchuck decided to help Bhutan to become modern， but without losing its traditions.
King Wangchuck looked at other countries for ideas. He saw that most countries measured their progress by their Gross Natonal Product（GNP)。 The GNP measures products and money. When the number of products sold increases， people say the country is making progress. King Wangchuck had a different idea for Bhutan. He wanted to measure his country’s progress by people’s happiness. If the people’s happiness increased， the king could say that Bhutan was making progress. To decide if people were happier， he created a measure called Gross National Happiness（GNH)。
GNH is based on certain principles that create happiness. People are happier if they have health care， education， and jobs. They are happier when they live in a healthy， protected environment. They are happier when they can keep their traditional culture and customs. Finally， people are happier when they have a good， stable government.
Now these is some evidence of increased GNH in Bhutan. People are healthier and are living longer. More people are educated and employed. Teenty-five percent of the land has become national parks， and the country has almost no pollution. The Bhutanese continue to wear their traditional clothing and follow their ancient Buddhist customs. Bhutan has also become a democracy. In 2008， King Wangchuck gave his power to his son. Although the country still had a king， it held its first democratic elections that year. Bhutan had political parties and political candidates for the first time. Finally， Bhutan has connected to the rest of the world through television and internet.
Bhutan is a symbol for social progress. Many countries are now interested in Bhutan’s GNH. These countries are investigating their own ways to measure happiness. They want to create new policies that take care of their people， cultures， and land.
Brazil may be the nest country to use the principles of GNH. Brazilian leaders see the principles of GNH as a source of inspiration. Brazil is a large country with a diverse population. If happiness works as a measure of progress in Brazil， perhaps the rest of the world will follow.
