大学英语四级阅读-26(总分100,考试时间90分钟)Reading ComprehensionSection ADirections: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.Have you ever known anyone famous? If so, you may have found that they are remarkably similar to the rest of us. You may have even heard them 1 to people saying there is anything different about them. "I'm really just a normal guy," 2 an actor who has recently rocketed into the spotlight. There is, of course, usually a brief period when they actually start to believe they are as great as their 3 fans suggest. They start to wear 4 clothes and talk as if everyone should hear what they have to say. This period, however, does not often last long. They fall back to reality as fast as they had 5 risen above it all. What will it feel like to soar to such 6 and look down like an eagle from up high on everyone else? And what will it feel like to have flown so high only to 7 from your dream and realize you are only human? Some only see the 8 in losing something they had gained. They often make 9 attempts to regain what they lost. Often these efforts result in even greater pain. Some become 10 financially and emotionally. The only real winners are those who are happy to be back on the ground with the rest of us.A．desperate B．disappointing C．cruelty D．bankrupt E．fancy F．protects G．altitude H．similarly I．wake J．contest K．object L．worshipping M．dignity N．originally O．protests1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.The West begun to take more notice of the East. The fifth volume of an enormous work re-assessing the Chinese contribution to science and technology is to be published next year. The first volume, which was published twenty years ago, set the 11 for the whole work. In it, 12 was given to show that many inventions which, until then, western historians had claimed for Europe, were made first in China. The 13 to rewrite the intellectual history of the world was not received without protest by some reputable historians. However, the evidence that has been 14 so far in the first four volumes has persuaded many historians who were skeptical at first. China's invention of paper, printing, the **pass and gunpowder has never been 15 , but this new history has added advanced bridge design, mechanical clocks, paddle boats and many other inventions to the 16 .In the four volumes published so far no attempt has been made to explain 17 China has not kept up with the West in science and technology in modern times. It is 18 that the answer is to be found in the social and economic history of China, where a static society under a relatively benevolent (仁慈的) regime of scholar-gentry contrasts with the potentially revolutionary and dynamic society of the West at the end of the Middle Ages. In 19 years, the Chinese government has been making every effort to catch up with the West again, and there is little doubt that the gap is being 20 year by year. But will China avoid the West's mistakes?A．that B．why C．past D．recentE．probable F．evidence G．tone H．textI．list J．attempt K．disputed L．producedM．reduced N．presented O．said11.12.13.14.15.16.17.18.19.20.Section BDirections: In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it. Each statement contains information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraph from which the information is derived. You may choose a paragraph more than once. Each paragraph is marked with a letter.Creative Book Report IdeasA．Are you at a loss for creative book report ideas for your students? If yes, then this article will help you make reading and reviewing books more creative for your class. In an age of PSPs, Xbox, anime and gaming arcades, reading has lost its foothold in the list of hobbies that children tend to cite. Most of the reading that kids do **es in the form of compulsory books that they needto read for school and maybe that is the reason why they find reading to be an insurmountable and boring task. If you want to inculcate the love for languages and literary masterpieces in your students and want them to devour books everyone should read, then a good way of going about the same would be to get them to start working on creative book report ideas. While working on creative ideas for book reports, your students will have to understand the book in a way that allows them to come up with new ways to present to the class the essence of the book.B．As a teacher, while egging your students to activate their creative gray cells, you will have to help them out with basic ideas that they can work on. Depending on the age bracket that your students belong to, the creative book report ideas will vary. This is so, not just because of the varying attention spans that children of various age groups possess but also because of the amount of work that kids can put into the report. While a middle school student will be comfortable handling a handy cam, a student from elementary school will be more fascinated if he is working with paints and puppets. So do you want to know how to write a book report creatively? In this article, we will list out for you a couple of good creative book report ideas for elementary students and for middle school students.C．A book report sandwich is a good creative idea for book reports. As a teacher you can get drawings of a sandwich on sheets of paper that are of the color of the ingredients of your sandwich, for example, a cream sheet of paper to resemble mayonnaise, red to represent tomato and likewise. Obviously, each ingredient should be cut in a way that when assembled together, it looks like a sandwich. Now give each of your students one of these book sandwiches to create their book report. It can start with the name of the book and the author's name on the top slice of the sandwich. The second ingredient can have the summary of the book on it. Each subsequent ingredient can have a description of the main characters, the setting of the book, the plot, and then his or her views about the book. Once they are done with their book reports, they can staple the book sandwich together and then, you can create a class bulletin board with all the book report sandwiches on display.D．One of the good techniques is to retell a story, and it is also one of the favorite creative book report ideas among students. The job that the student will have is to read the book and then pick a few objects at his/her home which will allow him/her to retell the story in a way that makes it interesting for his/her audience. Every time he/she picks out an object from the bag to report the book he/she has read, there has to be a valid connection between the book and the object, which the student can first ask the audience to guess and then go ahead and explain it. This idea is spin-off on the normal show and tells and allows for an interactive book report session.E．This is one of the creative ideas for book reports in which, as the teacher, you will have to divide your class into groups and give them one book each. The students can then read the book and get together and write a play and act it out for the class. To give a deeper insight into the book, one of the students can play the role of the author and as a group, the students can try and recreate the thought process of the author. The student playing the role of the author can then interrupt the play at important junctures and talk about the reasons for these twists in the play and how he/she came up with these plot lines.F．As a young adult, your student's fascination may go beyond the immediate concerns of the book. He/she may want to understand the circumstances in which the book was written, the times then, the events happening in the world and get the author's perspective about the book. Encourage your students to think beyond those lines. Divide the class into pairs and give each pair one bookto read. Let them then do the roles of the author and a journalist. You can have an interview session in front of the class, enabling them to dissect the book and get a peek into the author's world.G．In a technology-obsessed world, it may be a very tiny minority of your class that does not get excited with the prospect of shooting a film. One of the best creative book report ideas for middle school is that you will need to divide the class into groups and give them at least two months to adapt the book that they have been assigned into a film. The movie should have a well-adapted screenplay, and all other prerequisites, like a lighting engineer, sound engineer, costume designer etc. At the end of the given time, the film can be screened in front of the class and then discussed.H．If you are on the lookout for good individual creative book report ideas, then this one could be for you. Assign every student a book and then ask them to start maintaining a diary, from the author's point of view. Ask them to come up with imaginary incidents from the author's life and use historical events to explain why the author wrote the book in a certain manner. Alternately, you can also ask your students to give a surrogate ending to the story.I．These are just few of the options that you could use to inspire your students to come up with creative book report ideas. As kids, we tend to be more imaginative and creative. Encourage your students to think out of the box and appreciate them for their efforts. This will help you have a class that is not only lively and inquisitive by nature but also a class that will cultivate a love for words.21. Teachers can create a class bulletin board to display all the book report sandwiches after their students finish their reports.22. Adopting the method of knowing your author, teachers can encourage students to think beyond the immediate concerns of the book.23. Asking the students to write from their own point of view is suitable for teachers who are on the lookout for good individual creative book report ideas.24. Retelling a story is one of the favorite creative book report ideas among students and it tells and allows for an interactive book report session.25. Nowadays, most of books children read are those they need to read for school.26. People tend to be more imaginative and creative as kids.27. While working on creative ideas for book reports, students will have to understand the book.28. The creative book report ideas vary according to ages because children in different age groups have different attention span.29. If teachers ask their students to shoot a film about a book, they should give them no fewer than two months.30. Teachers can ask students in the groups to write a play out of the book they've given and act it out.The Power Of KnowledgeA．Mary Fasano gave the Commencement address at Harvard University's 1997 degree awarding ceremony. On that day she became the oldest person ever to receive an undergraduate degree from Harvard.B．I remember one night a few years ago when my daughter was frantic with worry. After my Harvard Extension School classes, I usually arrived at the bus station near my home by 11 P.M., but on that night I was nowhere to be found. My daughter was nervous. It wasn't safe for a singlewoman to walk alone on the streets at night, especially one as defenseless as I am.C．That night my daughter checked the bus station, drove around the streets, and contacted some friends. But she couldn't find me, until she called my astronomy professor who told her that I was on top of the Science Center using the telescope to gaze at the stars. Unaware of the time, I had gotten lost in the heavens and was only thinking about the new things I had learned that night in class.D．This story illustrates a habit I have developed over the years—I lose track of time when it comes to learning. How else do you explain a woman who began high school at age 71 and who is graduating with a bachelor's degree at 89? I may have started late, but I will continue to learn as long as I am able because there is no greater feeling, in my opinion, than traveling to a far away country as I have and being able to identify by sight the painting of a famous artist and the statue of an obscure sculptor. I have found that the world is a final exam that you can never be prepared enough for. So I will continue to take classes and tell my story.E．Lately it seems that everyone is asking me, "Mary, what advice do you have for other students?" So, while I have you all here, I'm going to ease my burden of answering you each individually. If the saying is true that **es with age, you may safely assume that I am one of the wisest people in this hall and possibly at this University today. So listen to me when I tell you this—knowledge is power.F．My studies were interrupted when I was in the 7th grade, back sometime around World War I. I loved school but I was forced to leave it to care for my family. I was consigned to work in a Rhode Island cotton mill where I labored for many years. I eventually married and raised 5 children, 20 grandchildren, and 18 great-grandchildren. But all the while I felt inferior to those around me. I knew I was as smart as a college graduate. I knew I was capable of doing a job well;I had proved it by running a successful family business for decades that still exists. But I wanted more. I wanted to feel confident when I spoke and I wanted people to respect my opinions.G．Does it surprise you to discover how much you have in common with an 89-year-old woman? I know that many of you graduates today, whether you were born in 1907 or 1957, have faced similar barriers to completing your studies and have sometimes felt inferior around those you work or socialize with just because you didn't have a degree.H．But I am here today—as you are—to prove that it can be done; that the power gained by understanding and appreciating the world around us can be obtained by anyone regardless of social status, personal challenges, or age. That belief is what has motivated me for the last 75 years to get this degree. It is also the mission of the Harvard Extension School. Without the support I received from this School, I might not have graduated until I was 100—a phrase that many of you have probably used in jest.I．There are many students here who do not have the opportunity that I do to speak their minds and have everybody listen, whether they want to or not. But be assured, fellow graduates, that we are more similar than you might think. If you have treated education as your main goal, and not as a means to an end, then you, too, have probably been claimed as a missing person once in your academic career, whether you were lost in the stars or the stacks of Widener Library.J．And you, too, know that the journey was worth it, and that the power of knowledge makes me the most formidable 89-year-old woman at the bus stop.31. Mary Fasano was observing the stars when her daughter found her.32. Mary Fasano made a speech at the degree awarding ceremony.33. Fasano broke off her studies because she was forced to go to work and look after her family during World War I.34. The reason why the author went on with her studies for the last 75 years is that she believes that the power of learning can be gained by everyone.35. To Mary Fasano, knowledge makes people confident and respectable.36. Mary Fasano had the habit of not being aware of time when she was learning.37. Mary Fasano's daughter was very nervous when she couldn't find her mother at the bus station as usual.38. Education, in Fasano's opinion should be a goal rather than a means to an end.39. Mary Fasano thinks that the world is a final exam that one can never be prepared enough for.40. Without a degree, people have sometimes felt inferior around those they work or socialize with.Section CDirections: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.Passage OneMost episodes of absent-mindedness—forgetting where you left something or wondering why you just entered a room—are caused by a simple lack of attention, says Schacter. "You're supposed to remember something, but you haven't encoded it deeply."Encoding, Schacter explains, is a special way of paying attention to an event that has a major impact on recalling it later. Failure to encode properly can create annoying situations. If you put your mobile phone in a pocket, for example, and don't pay attention to what you did because you're involved in a conversation, you'll probably forget that the phone is in the jacket now hanging in your wardrobe. "Your memory itself isn't failing you," says Schacter. "Rather, you didn't give your memory system the information it needed."Lack of interest can also lead to absent-mindedness. "A man who can recite sports statistics from 30 years ago," says Zelinski, "may not remember to drop a letter in the mailbox." Women have slightly better memories than men, possibly because they pay more attention to their environment, and memory relies on just that.Visual cues can help prevent absent-mindedness, says Schacter. "But be sure the cue is clear and available," he cautions. If you want to remember to take a medication with lunch, put the pill bottle on the kitchen table—don't leave it in the medicine chest and write yourself a note that you keep in a pocket.**mon episode of absent-mindedness: walking into a room and wondering why you're there. Most likely, you were thinking about something else. "Everyone does this from time to time," says Zelinski. The best thing to do is to return to where you were before entering the room, and you'll likely remember,41. Why does the author think that encoding properly is very important?A.It helps us understandour memory system better. B.It enables us to recall something from our memory. C.It expands our memory capacity considerably. D.It slows down the process of losing our memory.42. One possible reason why women have better memories than men is that ______.A.they have a wider range of interests B.they are more reliant on the environment C.they have an unusual power of focusing their attention D.they are more interested in what's happening around them43. A note in the pocket can hardly serve as a reminder because ______.A.it will easily get lost B.it's not clear enough for you to read C.it's out of your sight D.it might get mixed up with other things44. What do we learn from the last paragraph?A.If we focus our attention on one thing, we might forget another. B.Memory depends to a certain extent on the environment. C.Repetition helps improve our memory. D.If we keep forgetting things, we'd better return to where we were.45. What is the passage mainly about?A.The process of gradual memory loss. B.The causes of absent-mindedness. C.The impact of the environment on memory. D.A way of encoding and recalling.Some pessimistic experts feel that the automobile is bound to fall into disuse. They see a day in the not-too-distant future when all autos will be abandoned and allowed to rust. Other authorities, however, think the auto is here to stay. They hold that the car will remain a leading means of urban travel in the foreseeable future.The motorcar will undoubtedly change significantly over the next 30 years. It should become smaller, safer, and more economical, and should not be powered by the gasoline engine. The car of the future should be far more pollution-free than present types.Regardless of its power source, the auto in the future will still be the main problem in urban traffic congestion (拥挤). One proposed solution to this problem is the automated highway system.When the auto enters the highway system, a retractable (可伸缩的) arm will drop from the auto and make contact with a rail, which is similar to those powering subway trains electrically. Once attached to the rail, the car will become electrically powered from the system, and control of the vehicle will pass to a **puter. **puter will then monitor all of the car's movements.The driver will use a telephone to dial instructions about his destination into the system. **puter will calculate the best route, and reserve space for the car all the way to the correct exit from the highway. The driver will then be free to relax and wait for the buzzer (蜂鸣器) that will warn him of **ing exit. It is estimated that an automated highway will be able to handle 10,000 vehicles per hour, compared with the 1,500 to 2,000 vehicles that can be carried by a present-day highway.46. One significant improvement in the future car will probably be ______.A.its power source B.its driving system C.its monitoring system D.its seating capacity47. What is the author's main concern?A.How to render automobiles pollution-free. B.How tomake smaller and safer automobiles. C.How to solve the problem of traffic jams. D.How to develop an automated subway system.48. What provides autos with electric power in an automated highway system?A.A rail. B.An engine. C.A retractable arm. D.A computer controller.49. In an automated highway system, all the driver needs to do is ______.A.keep in the right lane B.wait to arrive at his destination C.keep in constant touch with **puter center rm the system of his destination by phone50. What is the author's attitude toward the future of autos?A.Enthusiastic. B.Pessimistic. C.Optimistic.D.Cautious.Passage TwoThe decline in moral standards—which has long concerned social analysts—has at last captured the attention of average Americans. And Jean Bethke Elshtain, for one, is glad.The fact that the ordinary citizens are now starting to think seriously about the nation's moral climate, says this ethics (伦理学) professor at the University of Chicago, is reason to hope that new ideas **e forward to improve it.But the challenge is not to be underestimated. Materialism and individualism in American society are the biggest obstacles. "The thought that 'I'm in it for me' has become deeply rooted in the national consciousness," Ms. Elshtain says.Some of this can be attributed to the disintegration (瓦解，崩溃) of **munities, in which neighbors looked out for one another, she says. With today's greater mobility and with so many couples working, those bonds have been weakened, replaced by a greater emphasis on self.In a 1996 poll of Americans, loss of morality topped the list of the biggest problems facing the U.S. and Elshtain says the public is correct to sense that. Data show that Americans are struggling with problems unheard of in the 1950s, such as classroom violence and a high rate of births to unmarried mothers.The desire for a higher moral standard is not a lament (挽歌) for some nonexistent "golden age," Elshtain says, "nor is it a wishful (一厢情愿的) longing for a time that denied opportunities to women and minorities. Most people, in fact, favor the lessening of prejudice."Moral decline will not be reversed until people find ways to counter the materialism in society, she says. "Slowly, you recognize that the things that matter are those that can't be bought."51. Professor Elshtain is pleased to see that Americans ______.A.have adapted to a new set of moral standards B.are longing for the return of the good old days C.have realized the importance of material things D.are awakening to the lowering of their moral standards52. The moral decline of American society is caused mainly by ______.A.its growing wealth B.the self-centeredness of individuals C.underestimating the impact of socialchanges D.the prejudice against women and minorities53. Which of the following characterizes the **munities?A.Great mobility. B.Concern for one's neighbors. C.Emphasis on individual effort. D.Ever-weakening social bonds.54. In the 1950s, classroom violence ______.A.was something unheard of B.was by no means a rare occurrence C.attracted a lot of pubic attention D.began to appear in analysts' data55. According to Elshtain, the current moral decline may be reversed ______.A.if people can return to the "golden age" B.when women and men enjoy equal rights C.when people rid themselves of prejudice D.if less emphasis is laid on material thingsWith only about 1,000 pandas left in the world, China is desperately trying to clone the animal and save the endangered species. That's a move similar to what a Texas A & M University researchers have been undertaking for the past five years in a project called "Noah's Ark".Noah's Ark is aimed at collecting eggs, embryos (胚胎), semen and DNA of endangered animals and storing them in liquid nitrogen (氮). If certain species should become extinct, Dr. Duane Kraemer, a professor in Texas A & M's College of Veterinary Medicine, says there would be enough of the basic building blocks to reintroduce the species in the future.It is estimated that as many as 2,000 species of mammals, birds and reptiles (爬行动物) will become extinct in over 100 years. The panda, native only to China, is in danger of becoming extinct in the next 25 years.This week, Chinese scientists said they grew an embryo by introducing cells from a dead female panda into the egg cells of a Japanese white rabbit. They are now trying to implant the embryo into a host animal.The entire procedure could take from three to five years to complete."The nuclear transfer (核子移植) of one species to another is not easy, and the lack of available (capable of being used) panda eggs could be a major problem," Kraemer believes. "They will probably have to do several hundred transfers to result in one pregnancy (having a baby). It takes a long time and it's difficult, but this could be groundbreaking science if it works. They are certainly not putting any live pandas at risk, so it is worth the effort," adds Kraemer, who is one of the leaders of the Project at Texas A & M, the first-ever attempt at cloning a dog."They are trying to do something that's never been done, and this is very similar to our work in Noah's Ark. We're both trying to save animals that face extinction. I certainly appreciate their effort and there's a lot we can learn from what they are attempting to do. It's a research that is very much needed."56. The aim of "Noah's Ark" project is to ______.A.make efforts to clone the endangered pandas B.save endangered animals from dying out C.collect DNA of endangered animals to study D.transfer the nuclear of one animal to another57. According to Professor Kraemer, the major problem in cloning pandas would be the lack of ______.A.available panda eggs B.host animals C.qualifiedresearchers D.enough money58. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?A.There are only 1,000 pandas left in the world. B.The panda will become extinct in a century. C.Chinese scientists are trying to implant the embryo into a host animal. D.Chinese scientists do not put the live pandas at risk.59. From the passage we know that ______.A.Kraemer and his team have succeeded in cloning a dog B.scientists try to implant a panda' s egg into a rabbit C.Kraemer will work with Chinese scientists in clone researches D.about two thousand of species will probably die out in a century60. The best title for the passage may be ______.A.China's Success in Pandas Cloning B.The First Cloned Panda in the World C.Exploring the Possibility to Clone Pandas D.China—the Native Place of Pandas Forever。
