SAT阅读练习题:Reading Comprehension Test 5

10 minutes - 8 questions

The passage is taken from &aposThe Rule of the Road&apos, an essay written by a twentieth century essayist.

A stout old lady was walking with her basket down the middle of a street in Petrograd to the great confusion of the traffic and with no small peril to herself. It was pointed out to her that the pavement was the place for pedestrians, but she replied: &aposI&aposm going 5 to walk where I like. We&aposve got liberty now.&apos It did not occur to the dear old lady that if liberty entitled the pedestrian to walk down the middle of the road, then the end of such liberty would be universal chaos. Everybody would be getting in everybody else&aposs way and nobody would get anywhere. 10 Individual liberty would have become social anarchy.

There is a danger of the world getting liberty-drunk in these days like the old lady with the basket, and it is just as well to remind ourselves of what the rule of the road means. It means that in order that the liberties of all may be preserved, the 15 liberties of everybody must be curtailed. When the policeman, say, at Piccadilly Circus steps into the middle of the road and puts out his hand, he is the symbol not of tyranny, but of liberty. You may not think so. You may, being in a hurry, and seeing your car pulled up by this insolence of office, feel that your 20 liberty has been outraged. How dare this fellow interfere with your free use of the public highway? Then, if you are a reasonable person, you will rlect that if he did not interfere with you, he would interfere with no one, and the result would be that Piccadilly Circus would be a maelstrom that you would never 25 cross at all. You have submitted to a curtailment of private liberty in order that you may enjoy a social order which makes your liberty a reality.

Liberty is not a personal affair only, but a social contract. It is an accommodation of interests. In matters which do 30 not touch anybody else&aposs liberty, of course, I may be as free as I like. If I choose to go down the road in a dressing-gown who shall say me nay? You have liberty to laugh at me, but I have liberty to be indifferent to you. And if I have a fancy for dyeing my hair, or waxing my moustache (which heaven forbid), or 35 wearing an overcoat and sandals, or going to bed late or getting up early, I shall follow my fancy and ask no man&aposs permission. I shall not inquire of you whether I may eat mustard with my mutton. And you will not ask me whether you may follow this religion or that, whether you may prer Ella Wheeler Wilcox to 40 Wordsworth, or champagne to shandy.

In all these and a thousand other details you and I please ourselves and ask no one&aposs leave. We have a whole kingdom in which we rule alone, can do what we choose, be wise or ridiculous, harsh or easy, conventional or odd. But directly we 45 step out of that kingdom, our personal liberty of action becomes qualified by other people&aposs liberty. I might like to practice on the trombone from midnight till three in the morning. If I went on to the top of Everest to do it, I could please myself, but if I do it in my bedroom my family will object, and if I do it out in the streets 50 the neighbors will remind me that my liberty to blow the trombone must not interfere with their liberty to sleep in quiet. There are a lot of people in the world, and I have to accommodate my liberty to their liberties.

We are all liable to forget this, and unfortunately we are much 55 more conscious of the imperfections of others in this respect than of our own. A reasonable consideration for the rights or feelings of others is the foundation of social conduct.

It is in the small matters of conduct, in the observance of the rule of the road, that we pass judgment upon ourselves, and 60 declare that we are civilized or uncivilized. The great moments of heroism and sacrifice are rare. It is the little habits of commonplace intercourse that make up the great sum of life and sweeten or make bitter the journey.

1. The author might have stated his ‘rule of the road’ as

A. do not walk in the middle of the road B. follow the orders of policemen C. do not behave inconsiderately in public D. do what you like in private E. liberty is more important than anarchy

2. The author’s attitude to the old lady in paragraph one is

A. condescending B. intolerant C. objective D. sardonic E. supportive

3. The sentence ‘It means....curtailed’ (lines 13-15) is an example of

A. hyper B. cliché C. simile D. paradox E. consonance

4. Which sentence best sums up the author’s main point? sat

A. There is a danger....lines 11-13 B. A reasonable.... lines 56-57 C. It is in the small matters....lines 58-60 D. The great moments....lines 60-61 E. It is the little....lines 61-63

5. A situation analogous to the ‘insolence of office’ described in paragraph 2 would be

A. a teacher correcting grammar errors B. an editor shortening the text of an article C. a tax inspector demanding to see someone’s accounts D. an army office giving orders to a soldier E. a gaoler locking up a prisoner

6. ‘Qualified’ (line 46) most nearly means

A. accredited B. improved C. limited D. stymied E. educated

7. The author assumes that he may be as free as he likes in

A. all matters of dress and food B. any situation which does not interfere with the liberty of others C. anything that is not against the law D. his own home E. public places as long as no one sees him

8. In the sentence ‘ We are all liable....’ (lines 54-56) the author is

A. pointing out a general weakness B. emphasizing his main point C. countering a general misconception D. suggesting a remedy E. modifying his point of view

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SAT阅读练习题 Reading Comprehension Test 5参考答案

1.Correct Answer: C

Explanation:

The author is using the ‘rule of the road’ as a metaphor for social conduct. The whole extract is telling us to behave considerately toward others. Hence, answer C.

2.Correct Answer: A

Explanation:

The author rers to the old lady as ‘the dear old lady’, and yet he is disapproving of her behavior. He is assuming a tone of superiority and hence is best described as ‘condescending’. (Sardonic is mocking, or scornful, and is too strong for this case. Intolerant is not quite right because he is more pointing out the fault in her attitude than showing a lack of tolerance for her as a person.) sat

3.Correct Answer: D

Explanation:

The sentence, "It means that in order that the liberties of all may be preserved, the liberties of everybody must be curtailed," is an example of a paradox - an apparently contradictory statement. (Hyper is gross exaggeration; cliché is overused expression; simile is a comparison; and consonance is words with similar sounds.)

4.Correct Answer: B

Explanation:

The author’s main point is the need to behave with consideration...this is best covered by his statement in lines 56-57, "A reasonable consideration for the rights or feelings of others is the foundation of social conduct."

5.Correct Answer: C

Explanation:

The insolence of office is a situation in which an official who is doing his duty stops us and questions our behavior. It also has to be something that we at first resent, but then have to admit is socially necessary. This is best conveyed by answer C.

6.Correct Answer: C

Explanation:

To check a word meaning, go back to the sentence and insert another word of your own. In this case, replace the word ‘qualified’ - "But directly we step out of that kingdom, our personal liberty of action becomes qualified by other people&aposs liberty." A word like ‘limited’ will fit best.

7.Correct Answer: B

Explanation:

The author gives numerous examples of things he can do with total freedom (lines 31-40). But he makes it clear that any activity that interferes with someone else’s liberty should not be permitted (lines 44-54).

8.Correct Answer: A

Explanation:

The author comments that, "We are all liable to forget this, and unfortunately we are much more conscious of the imperfections of others in this respect than of our own." In this he is pointing out that we are all likely to have this fault - hence answer A.

SAT阅读练习题:Reading Comprehension Test 5SAT阅读练习题:Reading Comprehension Test 5SAT阅读练习题:Reading Comprehension Test 5

SAT阅读练习题:Reading Comprehension Test 5

10 minutes - 8 questions

The passage is taken from &aposThe Rule of the Road&apos, an essay written by a twentieth century essayist.

A stout old lady was walking with her basket down the middle of a street in Petrograd to the great confusion of the traffic and with no small peril to herself. It was pointed out to her that the pavement was the place for pedestrians, but she replied: &aposI&aposm going 5 to walk where I like. We&aposve got liberty now.&apos It did not occur to the dear old lady that if liberty entitled the pedestrian to walk down the middle of the road, then the end of such liberty would be universal chaos. Everybody would be getting in everybody else&aposs way and nobody would get anywhere. 10 Individual liberty would have become social anarchy.

There is a danger of the world getting liberty-drunk in these days like the old lady with the basket, and it is just as well to remind ourselves of what the rule of the road means. It means that in order that the liberties of all may be preserved, the 15 liberties of everybody must be curtailed. When the policeman, say, at Piccadilly Circus steps into the middle of the road and puts out his hand, he is the symbol not of tyranny, but of liberty. You may not think so. You may, being in a hurry, and seeing your car pulled up by this insolence of office, feel that your 20 liberty has been outraged. How dare this fellow interfere with your free use of the public highway? Then, if you are a reasonable person, you will rlect that if he did not interfere with you, he would interfere with no one, and the result would be that Piccadilly Circus would be a maelstrom that you would never 25 cross at all. You have submitted to a curtailment of private liberty in order that you may enjoy a social order which makes your liberty a reality.

Liberty is not a personal affair only, but a social contract. It is an accommodation of interests. In matters which do 30 not touch anybody else&aposs liberty, of course, I may be as free as I like. If I choose to go down the road in a dressing-gown who shall say me nay? You have liberty to laugh at me, but I have liberty to be indifferent to you. And if I have a fancy for dyeing my hair, or waxing my moustache (which heaven forbid), or 35 wearing an overcoat and sandals, or going to bed late or getting up early, I shall follow my fancy and ask no man&aposs permission. I shall not inquire of you whether I may eat mustard with my mutton. And you will not ask me whether you may follow this religion or that, whether you may prer Ella Wheeler Wilcox to 40 Wordsworth, or champagne to shandy.

In all these and a thousand other details you and I please ourselves and ask no one&aposs leave. We have a whole kingdom in which we rule alone, can do what we choose, be wise or ridiculous, harsh or easy, conventional or odd. But directly we 45 step out of that kingdom, our personal liberty of action becomes qualified by other people&aposs liberty. I might like to practice on the trombone from midnight till three in the morning. If I went on to the top of Everest to do it, I could please myself, but if I do it in my bedroom my family will object, and if I do it out in the streets 50 the neighbors will remind me that my liberty to blow the trombone must not interfere with their liberty to sleep in quiet. There are a lot of people in the world, and I have to accommodate my liberty to their liberties.

We are all liable to forget this, and unfortunately we are much 55 more conscious of the imperfections of others in this respect than of our own. A reasonable consideration for the rights or feelings of others is the foundation of social conduct.

It is in the small matters of conduct, in the observance of the rule of the road, that we pass judgment upon ourselves, and 60 declare that we are civilized or uncivilized. The great moments of heroism and sacrifice are rare. It is the little habits of commonplace intercourse that make up the great sum of life and sweeten or make bitter the journey.

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