閱讀理解是英語各題型中的重中之中。備考考研英語閱讀理解,關鍵是擴大英語閱讀的練習，下面是小編給大家準備的英語閱讀理解真題的翻譯加答案解析，歡迎大家閱讀練習!
Talk to any parent of a student who took an adventurous gap year (a year between school and university when some students earn money, travel, etc.) and a misty look will come into their eyes. There are some disasters and even the most motivated, organised gap student does require family back-up, financial, emotional and physical. The parental mistiness is not just about the brilliant experience that has matured their offspring; it is vicarious living. We all wish pre?university gap years had been the fashion in our day. We can see how much tougher our kids become; how much more prepared to benefit from university or to decide positively that they are going to do something other than a degree.
Gap years are fashionable, as is reflected in the huge growth in the number of charities and private companies offering them. Pictures of Prince William toiling in Chile have helped, but the trend has been gathering steam for a decade. The range of gap packages starts with backpacking, includes working with charities, building hospitals and schools and, very commonly, working as a language assistant, teaching English. With this trend, however, comes a danger. Once parents feel that a well-structured year is essential to their would?be undergraduates progress to a better university, a good degree, an impressive CV and well paid employment, as the gap companies blurbs suggest it might be, then parents will start organising—and paying for—the gaps.
Where there are disasters, according to Richard Oliver, director of the gap companies' umbrella organisation, the Year Out Group, it is usually because of poor planning. That can be the fault of the company or of the student, he says, but the best insurance is thoughtful preparation. “When people get it wrong, it is usually medical or, especially among girls, it is that they have not been away from home before or because expectation does not match reality.”
The point of a gap year is that it should be the time when the school leaver gets to do the thing that he or she fancies. Kids don't mature if mum and dad decide how they are going to mature. If the 18-year-old's way of maturing is to slob out on Hampstead Heath soaking up sunshine or spending a year working with fishermen in Cornwall, then thats what will be productive for that person. The consensus, however, is that some structure is an advantage and that the prime mover needs to be the student.
The 18-year-old who was dispatched by his parents at two weeks'notice to Canada to learn to be a snowboarding instructor at a cost of ￡5,800, probably came back with little more than a hangover. The 18-year-old on the same package who worked for his fare and spent the rest of his year instructing in resorts from New Zealand to Switzerland, and came back to apply for university, is the positive counterbalance. [502 words]
16. It can be inferred from the first paragraph that parents of gap students may____.
[A] help children to be prepared for disasters
[B] receive all kinds of support from their children
[C] have rich experience in bringing up their offspring
[D] experience watching children grow up
17. According to the text, which of the following is true?
[A] The popularity of gap years results from an increasing number of charities.
[B] Prince William was working hard during his gap year.
[C] Gap years are not as fashionable as they were ten years ago.
[D] A well-structured gap year is a guarantee of university success.
18. The word “packages” (Line 3, Para. 2) means________.
[A] parcels carried in traveling [B] a comprehensive set of activities
[C] something presented in a particular way [D] charity actions
19. What can cause the disasters of gap years?
[A] Intervention of parents. [B] Irresponsibility of the companies.
[C] A lack of insurance. [D] Low expectation.
20. An 18-year-old is believed to take a meaningful gap year when he/she.________
[A] lives up to his/her parents'expectations
[B] spends time being lazy and doing nothing
[C] learns skills by spending parents'money
[D] earns his or her living and gains working experience
>>>>>>答案解析<<<<<<
核心詞彙
at two weeksnotice 提前兩週通知;at short(a moments) notice隨時，提前很短時間通知 例：We are ready to start at short notice.我們已準備好，接到通知就可以出發。
back?up n./ a. *① 支援(者)，支持(者) ② 備用品 例：a backup plan/system/pilot備用計劃/備用系統/候補飛行員
back up ① 支持(某人)，證實(某說法) ② 備份，複製(磁盤) ③ 向後移動
counterbalance n./v. 平衡，抗衡;平衡抵消物; counter? 前綴，表示“相反的，相對的”如 counter?attack v. 回擊，counterpart n. 地位、職務等相當的人，對等物
look up ① 擡頭看 ② 尊敬，仰望 例：look up to sb. as ones teacher把某人尊爲老師 *③ (形勢等)好轉 例：Things are looking up now.情況正在好轉。 ④ (在字典、參考書等中)查尋 例：look up a word in a dictionary在字典中查一個詞
package n. ① 包，盒，袋 *② a set of related things or services sold or offered together(必須整體接受的)一套，一攬子 例：a benefits package 一套福利措施 / an aid package 綜合援助計劃 / package deal 一攬子交易
pick up ① 拾起，拿起 例： pick up the phone拿起話筒 ② (偶然、無意地)獲得(收益、知識、消息等) pick up a tip from my mother 從媽媽那學到一個竅門 ③ 接收(訊號)，收聽(廣播等)例：pick up the BBC World Service 接收英國廣播公司國際廣播節目 *④ (情況等)好轉，改進 例：Trade is picking up nicely.生意很有起色。
structure n. ① 結構，構造，體系 *② a situation in which everything is carefully organized and planned組織性，條理性 例： Kids need some sort of structure to their day. 兒童的日常生活需要有點條理性。
vt. 構造;組織;安排 例：You need to structure your arguments more carefully.你需要更仔細地組織好自己的論據。/ well structured精心組織的，安排周密的
umbrella organization an organization that includes many smaller groups傘狀機構、組織
超綱詞彙
a gap year (中學和大學之間)學業間斷的一年，間斷年
backpack v.揹包旅行 例：go backpacking n.揹包
blurb n. ① (印在書籍封套上的)簡介 *② 誇大的廣告或介紹詞
hangover n. 遺留的感覺(或風俗、習慣等)(常後跟介詞from) 例：the insecure feeling that was a hangover from her childhood 她兒時留下的不安全感
slob n. 懶惰而邋遢的人 *vi. slob out/around遊手好閒，無所事事
toil n.辛苦，勞累;苦活，難事 例：some books are a toil to read.有些書讀起來真費勁。 v.苦幹，辛苦從事(於……) 例：toil at/on ones task辛苦工作
vicarious a. ① 代理的，代表的;代理人的 例：vicarious authority代理的職權 *② (想象別人的苦樂等而)產生同感或共鳴的 例：He got a vicarious thrill out of watching his son score the winning goal.他看到兒子射入致勝一球時，也同樣感到欣喜若狂。
語篇分析
本文題材涉及青少年教育。作者介紹了現在十分時興的“學業間斷年”現象，先分析它存在的問題，然後提出實現一個有意義的學業間斷年的方法。這是一篇現象解釋型文章，按照“提出現象—解釋現象—提出建議”的脈絡展開論述，可以分成三大部分。
第一段爲第一部分，提出現象，引入話題。
以父母爲切入點，間接提出一種現象：學業間斷年。一方面，由於學業間斷年存在着危機，家庭需要給予孩子各方面的支持。另一方面，父母從孩子身上感受到了一種新的生活方式(vicarious living)，他們看到孩子們①變得更堅強(become tougher);②爲大學生活作了更充分的準備(more prepared to benefit from university);③打算做除了獲得學歷之外的事情(do something other than a degree)。
第二、三段爲第二部分，解釋現象，分析學業間斷年現象的現狀及存在的問題。
第二段：內容上分成了兩個部分。第一部分指出學業間斷年現在很流行，其表現是：組織團體和公司增多。其原因是：①威廉王子的宣傳效應;②經過十年的發展聲勢逐漸強大。第二部分從with this trend, however... 開始，指出學業間斷年的潛在問題之一：父母干預孩子的成長。其具體表現爲：父母組織並資助間斷年期間的活動(start organizing and paying for the gaps)。其原因是：受公司宣傳的影響，以爲這個階段對孩子未來的學業和就業都非常重要。
第三段：延續第二段後面部分的內容，引用專家(Richard Oliver)的觀點，指出學業間斷年存在的第二大問題：缺乏周密的計劃(poor planning)。其表現是：健康問題、從未離開過家、期望與現實不符。解決方法：做好審慎的準備(thoughtful preparation)。
第四、五段爲第三部分，提出建議，即讓年輕人自己來組織和安排學業間斷年。