4."A room without books is like a body without a soul,"observed the Roman philosopher,Cicero.It can also be a sign of financial problems to come.New research has uncovered a strong connection between the earning of adults and whether they grew up surrounded by books as children
Three economists at the University of Padua-Giorgio Brunello,Guglielmo Weber and Christoph Weiss-studied 6000 men born in nine European countries and concluded that children with access to books could expect to earn more money than those who grew up with few or no books.
They studied the period from 1920 to 1956,when school reforms saw the minimum school leaving age raised across Europe.They booked at whether,at the age of 10,a child lived in a house with fewer than 10books,a shelf of books,a bookcase with up to 100 books,two bookcases,or more than two bookcases.
Over the period studied,the research,published in The Economic Journal,found that an additional year of education increased a man's average lifetime earnings by 9%.Men brought up in houses with less than a shelf of books earned only 5% more as a result of the extra year's education,compared with 21% more for those who had access to a lot of books.Ands those who had access to books were more likely to move to the better-earning opportunities in cities than those without books.The men's first job was also much more likely to be a white-collar job
The economists offer a number of theories for the results."perhaps books matter because they encourage children to read more and reading can have positive effects on school performance,"they said.
The number of books in children's homes can effectively predict their cognitive(认知的)test scores.This may indicate a home that encourages cognitive skills,which are important for economic success in life.
25.Why did author mention Cicero's words in the first paragraph?B
A.To make an argument B.To introduce the topic
C.To express his own views D.To arouse readers'interest
26.What can we learn about the people studied by the researchers?C
A.They were tracked by researchers since age 10.
B.They all left school because of school reforms
C.They came form several different countries
D.They are now white-collar professionals
27.How does the author show the results of the research?A
A.By listing numbers
B.By providing examples
C.By following the order of time
D.By following the order of importance.
28.What is the main conclusion to the research?D
A.Homes without books are vulnerable(脆弱)to financial problems
B.Families that can afford books raise successful children
C.Boy who love reading books earn more than girls
D.Children who live with books earn more as adults.
分析 本文属于议论文,首先用Cicero的话引出所要论述的话题:人们的收入与他们孩童时期所看书的多少之间的关系,接着用一项研究作为论据证实了两者之间是存在一定关系的,最后做出总结:孩童时期所看书的数量可以有效预知他们的认知考试分数,而这对于他们以后的收入是很重要的.
解答 25.B 推理判断题,阅读完全文可知,文章整篇都在讲人们的收入与他们孩童时期所看书的多少之间的关系,所以可推断首段引用Cicero的话"A room without books is like a body without a soul,没有书的房间就如同没有灵魂的躯体"是为了引出话题,故选B.
26.C 细节理解题,根据第二段"studied 6000 men born in nine European countries 研究了6000个来自九个欧洲国家的人,可知研究者调查的人来自于不同的国家,故选C.
27.A 推理判断题,通过阅读全文可知文章的第四段是研究的结果,结果陈述中出现了多组数字,所以可推断作者是通过列数字的方式来向我们展示研究结果的,故选A.
28.D 主旨大意题,根据最后一段"The number of books in children's homes can effectively predict their cognitive(认知的)test scores.This may indicate a home that encourages cognitive skills,which are important for economic success in life.孩子们家中书的数量能有效预测他们的认知考试分数,也许在书多的家庭中的孩子可以提高认知能力,这对于孩子未来的收入是很重要的.由此可知研究得出的主要结论是:在孩童时期读的书越多,长大以后赚的钱就会越多,故选D.
点评 做这类题材阅读理解时要求考生对文章通读一遍,做题时结合原文和题目有针对性的找出相关语句进行仔细分析,结合选项选出正确答案.推理判断题也是要在抓住关键句子的基础上合理的分析才能得出正确答案,切忌胡乱猜测,一定要做到有理有据.