英语四级考试阅读学习笔记(15)

The reality is that writing is a lonely, private and poor-paying affair. For every writer kissed by fortune there are thousands more whose longing is never rewarded. When I left a 20-year career in the U.S. Coast Guard to become a freelance writer (自由撰稿者), I had no prospects at all: What I did have was a friend who found me my room in a New York apartment building. It didn't even matter that it was cold and had no bathroom. I immediately bought a used manual typewriter and felt like a genuine writer.
58. Why did the author begin to doubt himself after the first year of his writing career?
A) He wasn' t able to produce a single book.
B) He hadn't seen a change for the better.
C) He wasn' t able to have a rest for a whole year.
D) He found his dream would never come true.
注:第三段第一句的同义改写,D项中的never 为绝对语气词,故不选
After a year or so, however, I still hadn't gotten a break and began to doubt myself. It was so hard to sell a story that barely made enough to eat. But I knew I wanted to write. I had dreamed about it for years. I wasn't going to be one of those people who die wondering; what if? I would keep putting my dream to the test --- even though it meant living with uncertainty and fear of failure. This is the Shadowland of hope, and anyone with a dream must learn to live there.
Questions 66 to 70 are based on the following passage:
66. Psychologists are divided with regard to their attitudes toward _________.
A) the choice between spiritual encouragement and monetary rewards
B) the amount of monetary rewards for student's creativity
C) the study of relationship between actions and their consequences
D) the effects of external rewards on students' performance
67. What is the response of many educators to external rewards for their students?
A) They have no doubts about them.
B) They have doubts about them.
C) They approve of them.
D) They avoid talking about them.
68. Which of the following can best raise students' creativity according to Robert Eisenberger?
A) Assigning them tasks they have not dealt with before.
B) Assigning them tasks which require inventiveness.
C) Giving them rewards they really deserve.
D) Giving them rewards they anticipate.
69. It can be inferred from the passage that major universities are trying to tighten their grading standards because they believe _________.
A) rewarding poor performance may kill the creativity of students
B) punishment is more effective than rewarding
C) failing uninspired students helps improve their overall academic standards
D) discouraging the students' anticipation for easy rewards is a matter of urgency
70. The phrase "token economies" (Line 1, Para. 5) probably refers to _________.
A) ways to develop economy
B) systems of rewarding students
C) approaches to solving problems
D) methods of improving performance