《大学英语4》I. Reading ComprehensionPassage 1Questions 1 to 5 are based on the following passage.In the United States, when people attain legal marriage age and meet certain medical requirements, they are free to choose their own mates. Once a couple has decided to get married, the man customarily gives the girl a diamond ring. The use of a ring comes from the ancient custom of using a ring to settle an important agreement. When the wedding day is decided upon, the girl sends wedding announcements or invitation to friends and relatives.On the wedding day it is supposed to be bad luck for the bride and bride-groom to see each other before the wedding. Another old custom that many people believe will bring good luck to the marriage is for the bride to wear "something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue".Before the wedding day the bridegroom always chooses a "best man", a good friend to help him and stand beside him during the wedding ceremony. The idea of having a best man originated from the belief that evil spirits, envious of the couple's happiness, would be out to harm them, but would be confused by so many similarly dressed people. The custom of the best man goes back to the ancient days when a strong friend helped the bridegroom escape from the bride's friends. Bells were originally rung at weddings to frighten away the evil spirits, and noisy celebrations were held beforehand to try and drive them from the community.When a couple gets married, the groom gives his bride a wedding ring. Many marriages are double-ring ceremonies —that is, the bride and the groom exchange rings. The wedding ring is customarily a simple plain gold band. The roundness of the ring symbolizes eternity and announces that the couple is untied for life. The wedding ring is worn on the third finger of the left hand. People believe that a vein from the third finger runs directly to the heart.Near the end of the reception, which is offered by the bride's parents,the bride throws her bunch of flowers to the unmarried women. The lucky girl who catches it is supposed to be the next one to get married.D 1. People can get married when____________.A. they arrive legal ageB. they have a babyC. they meet certain medical requirementsD. both A and CD 2. Which of the following can bring the marriage good luck?A. The bride and groom have a date on the previous night of the wedding ceremony.B. The groom finds a lot of handsome best men to stand beside him at the ceremony.C. The bride throws her bunch of flowers to the unmarried women.D. The bride wears "something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue".C 3. According to the passage, which of the following statements about the "best man" is not true?A. The best man should be a good friend to help the groom and stand beside him during the wedding ceremony.B. The best man was originally used to confuse the evil spirits with the many similarly dressed people.C. The best man is the person who should ring the bells at the wedding ceremony to frighten away the evil spirits.D. The best man in ancient days should be strong enough to help the bridegroom escape from the bride's friends.C 4. According to the passage, which of the following statements about the wedding ring is not true?A. The roundness of the wedding ring means that the marriage will last for ever.B. The roundness of the wedding ring shows that the couple is united for life.C. The wedding ring is usually worn on the third finger of the right hand.D. The wedding ring is usually a simple plain gold band.D 5. What's the best title for this passage?A. The Tradition of Wedding Ring.B. The Best Man and the Wedding Ceremony.C. Good Luck at the Wedding Ceremony.D. Wedding Customs and Traditions.Passage 2Questions 6 to 10 are based on the following passage.A third of Britons are overweight, states a report published in January by the Royal College of Physicians, the result of an 18-month-long study. About five percent of children weigh too much, and are likely to stay that way for life; in the mid-twenties age group the proportion of fat people rises to a third, and of the middle-aged population half are overweight.Fat people risk severe health problems, says the report, including high blood pressure, breathlessness, and various forms of heart disease. Smoking is particularly risk for overweight people.The safest way to lose weight is to eat cereals, bread, fruit and vegetable, and cut down on fatty meats, butter and sweet foods. Fat diet do far more harm than good: slimming machines that vibrate muscles have not been proved useful; saunas（桑拿浴）merely remove a little body water, and health farms, says the report, serve as expensive holidays.Exercise is most important to health, the report emphasizes; though it doesn’t necessarily reduce weight, it maintain s the correct proportion of body fat to body muscle. And it isn’t only for the young. From middle age a minimum of 20 minutes of gentle physical jerks should be practiced three times a weeks.The report advocates several public health measures to combat the high prevalence of overweight in this country. They include an increase of tax onalcohol to reduce its increasingly and dangerously fattening consumption; and the provision of more sports facilities by local authorities. Britain’s doctors, the report concludes, must learn to be more sympathetic and specific in their advice to the overweight, encouraging a change in eating habits on a long-term basis, and taking into account the many—often complex—reasons why fat people are fat.B 6. What is the best title for this passage?A. How to Avoid Getting OverweightB. Britons’ Overweight ProblemC. The Cause of Briton’s OverweightD. The Relations Between Overweight and HealthB 7. What does the report in the passage think of exercise?A. It is a way to reduce weight.B. It is a sure way to keep one healthy.C. It sometimes increases weight.D. It can convert fat to muscle.B 8. Which of the following statements is true according to the report mentioned in the passage?A. Fat diets are effective in reducing weight.B. A person is likely to stay fat for the whole of his life if he is born fat.C. To reduce fatty meats, butter and sweet food is a good way to lose weight.D. Blood pressure has little to do with overweight.A 9. The report points out that drinking too much alcohol ___________.A. will also cause one to get overweightB. will make one forget the fact that he is fatC. will lead one to bad eating habitsD. will cause one to do less sportsC 10. The Briton’s doctors sho uld ___________ when treating the overweight.A. first consider why so many people are fatB. encourage a long-term diet for everyoneC. be more considerate and give detailed adviceD. do all of the above mentionedPassage 3Questions 11 to 16 are based on the following passage.Cecil B. DeMille was a very famous and successful motion picture businessman among Hollywood's movie pioneers. He was born in Ashfield, Massachusetts in 1881. Both his parents were writers of plays. His father died when he was twelve years old. His mother kept the family together by establishing a theater company. Cecil joined the company as an actor. He continued working in his mother's theater company as an actor and a manager until 1913. That year, he joined Jesse L. Lasky and Samuel Goldfish to form the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company.The three men started making motion pictures immediately. They loved working in the movie business. They were deeply interested in its creative and financial possibilities. DeMille, Lasky and Goldfish began working on a movie version of the popular American western play, "Squaw Man". DeMille urged that the movie be made in the real American West. He chose Flagstaff, Arizona. DeMille and the company traveled to Flagstaff by train. When they arrived, DeMille thought the area looked too modern. They got back on the train and keep going until they reached the end of the line. They were in a quiet little town in southern California. The town was called Hollywood. DeMille decided this was the perfect place to film the movie."Squaw Man" was one of the first full-length movies produced in Hollywood. It was released in 1913 and was an immediate success. DeMille is considered the man who helped Hollywood become the center of the motion picture business. He quickly became a creative force in the new movie industry.B 11. What did DeMille's mother do to support the family after his father's death?A. She wrote a lot of plays and then sold them.B. She set up a theater company together with other family members.C. She worked as an actress.D. She asked her son to manage the company.C 12. When was the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company formed?A. In 1881.B. In 1903.C. In 1913.D. Not mentioned.D 13. Why did DeMille and the company finally choose Hollywood as the perfect place to film the movie?A. Because Hollywood was the end of the line, and they had no choice.B. Because Hollywood was modern but quiet.C. Because Hollywood was very famous at that time.D. Because Hollywood didn't look so modern as Flagstaff and was fit for filming a western.A 14. Which of the following is true about the movie "Squaw Man"?A. The movie was an immediate success as a full-length western.B. The movie was taken in Flagstaff, Arizona.C. The movie described people's life in the wild and was produced in 1913.D. The movie was the first movie produced in Hollywood.C 15. Which of the following is NOT true about Cecil B. DeMille?A. He was well-known as a pioneer in the movie business.B. He once was an actor in a theater company.C. He used to think that Hollywood is not an ideal place to film western movies.D. He helped Hollywood become the center of the movie industry.Passage 4Questions 16 to 20 are based on the following passage.Like many of my generation, I have a weakness for hero worship. At some point, however, we all begin to question our heroes and our need for them. This leadsus to ask: What is a hero?Despite huge differences in cultures, heroes around the world generally sharea number of characteristics that instruct and inspire people.A hero does something worth talking about. A hero has a story of adventureto tell and a community who will listen. But a hero goes beyond mere fame.Heroes serve powers or principles larger than themselves. Like high-voltage transformers （变压器）, heroes take the energy of higher powers and step it down so that it can be used by ordinary people.The hero lives a life worthy of imitation. Those who imitate a genuine hero experience life with new depth, enthusiasm, and meaning. A sure test for would-be heroes is what or whom do they serve? What are they willing to live and die for?If the answer or evidence suggests they serve only their own fame, they may be famous persons but not heroes. Madonna and Michael Jackson are famous, but who would claim that their fans find life more meaningful?Heroes are catalysts （催化剂） for change. They have a vision from the mountaintop. They have the skill and the charm to move the masses. They create new possibilities. Without Gandhi, India might still be part of the British Empire. Without Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr., we might still have segregated （隔离的） buses, restaurants, and parks. It may be possible for large-scale change to take place without leaders with attractive personalities,but the pace of change would be slow, the vision uncertain, and the committee meetings endless.D 16. What does the first sentence "Like many of my generation, I have a weaknessfor hero worship." in the first paragraph mean?A. Many of my generation and I are not strong enough to be heroes.B. Many of my generation and I are too weak to worship heroes.C. Many of my generation and I do not worship heroes.D. Many of my generation and I worship heroes.C 17. Which of the following is NOT one of heroes' characteristics?A. Doing something worth talking about.B. Having a story of adventure to tell.C. Listening to the opinions of his community.D. Serving powers or principles larger than themselves.C 18. According to the fourth paragraph, in what sense are heroes like high-voltagetransformers?A. They instruct and inspire different cultures with their deeds.B. They set very good examples for ordinary people to follow.C. Their characteristics give ordinary people strength and confidence.D. They receive high energy and transform it into heroic action.D 19. In which of the following aspects famous people are different from heroes?A. Heroes go beyond mere fame.B. Famous people serve only their own fame.C. They are willing to live different lives.D. Both A and B.A 20. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that____________.A. heroes quicken the speed of historical changesB. heroes change possibilities into realityC. historical changes are impossible without heroesD. heroes with attractive personalities will certainly bring about large-scale changePassage 5Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.The city has always been an engine of intellectual life, from the 18th-century cafes of London, where citizens gathered to discuss chemistry and politics, to the Left Bank bars of modern Paris, where Picasso talked about modem art. Without the metropolis, we might not have had the great art of Shakespeare.And yet, city life isn’t easy. Now scientists have begun to examine how the city affects the brain, and the results are depressing. Just being in an urban environment, they have found, impairs (损害) our basic mental processes. After spending a few minutes on a crowded city street, the brain is less able to hold things in memory, and suffers from reduced self-control. While it’s long been recognized that city life is exhausting, this new research suggests that cities actually dull our thinking, sometimes dramatically so.One of the main forces at work is a complete lack of nature, which is surprisingly beneficial for the brain. Studies have demonstrated, for instance, that hospital patients recover more quickly when they can see trees from their windows, and that women living in public housing are better able to focus when their apartments overlook a lawn. Even these glimpses of nature improve brain performance, it seems, because they provide a mental break from the urban life.This research arrives just as humans cross an important milestone (里程碑). For the first time in history, the majority of people live in cities. Instead of inhabiting wide-open spaces, we’re crowded into concrete jungles, surrounded by traffic and millions o f strangers. In recent years, it’s become clear that such unnatural surroundings have important implications for our mental and physical health, and can powerfully alter how we think.B 21. Which of the following is the main idea of this passage?A. The city inspires talented people.B. The city hurts your brain.C. The city has many pleasures and benefits.D. The city seriously affects the natural balance.C 22. The word “metropolis” in the first paragraph is closest in meaning to_______.A. citizenB. natureC. cityD. stressD 23. People have just come to realize that_______.A. human attention is a scarce resourceB. city life can make people very tiredC. the city is an engine of intellectual lifeD. an urban environment is damaging to the brainA 24. What is the factor mentioned in the third paragraph that helps the hospital patients recover more quickly?A. Nature.B. Better treatment.C. Experienced doctors.D. Good medicine.C 25. According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?A. Different aspects (方面) of an urban environment, such as the crowdedstreets, can lead to an increase in self-control.B. Small changes in urban design cannot reduce the negative side effects of city life.C. For the first time in history, the earth’s population is more urban than rural.D. A walk down a busy city street will improve brain performance.Passage 6Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.To understand how Americans think about things, it is necessary to understand "the point". Americans mention it often："Let's get right to the point", "My point is ...","What's the point of all this?"The "point" is the idea or piece of information that Americans suppose is, or should be, at the center of people's thinking, writing, and spoken comments. Speakers and writers are supposed to "make their points clear", meaning that they are supposed to write clearly the idea or piece of information they wish to express.People from many other cultures have different ideas about "the point". Africans traditionally tell stories that express the thoughts they have in mind, rather than stating "the point" clearly. Japanese traditionally speak indirectly, leaving the listener to figure out what the point is. Thus, while an American might say to a friend, "I don't think that coat goes very well with the rest of your outfit", a Japanese might say, "Maybe this other coat would look even better than the one you have on." Americans value a person who "gets right to the point". Japanese are likely to consider such a person insensitive if not rude.The Chinese and Japanese languages are characterized by vagueness and ambiguity（模糊）. The precision（精确）and directness Americans associate with "the point" cannot be achieved, at least not with any grace, in Chinese and Japanese. Speakers of those languages thus have to learn a new way of reasoning and expressing their ideas if they are going to communicate satisfactorily with Americans.B 26 By “the point”,Americans mean____________.A. the idea or information in their mindB. the most important idea or informationC. what they think, write and speakD. what they wish to expressA 27 Compared with people from many other cultures, Americans are____________.A. direct and honestB. clear and talkativeC. impolite and rudeD. traditional and silentD 28 A typical American seems to be ______to a typical Japanese.A. sensitive and rudeB. insensitive but not rudeC. sensitive instead of rudeD. insensitive and even rudeD 29 Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?A. You are expected to state your idea clearly when speaking to an American.B. Telling stories to express their ideas is a traditional way of Africans.C. Japanese often imply their disapproval with polite words.D. Chinese and Japanese languages are hard to understand because they arenot clear.C 30 A conclusion can be made that____________.A. Americans and Africans cannot communicate satisfactorilyB. Africans and Japanese cannot communicate satisfactorilyC. Misunderstanding may arise when Americans communicate with ChineseD. Chinese and Japanese will certainly get on well with each otherPassage 7Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage.For centuries Dutch engineers have been fighting a war against water. Their main enemy is the sea. A large part of the country is below sea level. In fact, Holland is also called the “Netherlands” which means “low land.” Very talland strong walls, called dykes, have built to keep out the sea. But in very rough weather the sea may suddenly burst through a dyke. Great damage can be causedby floods when this happens.Three large rivers are also part of the problem. These rivers are the Rhine,the Maas and the Scheldt. They flow through Holland into the North Sea. They have cut many passages across the country. At low tides, the rivers flow intothe sea as usual. But at high tide, the sea can flow into the rivers! This is because the land is so low.The battles against the water never end, but they have made Holland a biggerand bigger country. In order to prevent floods, the engineers take or reclaim land that was under water. The Dutch have been reclaiming land for seven hundred years.Land is usually reclaimed from a passage between islands. Two dykes are built across the passage, so they block the water between them. Then the engineersdig long canals and pump the water into them. At low tide, the canals empty the water into the sea.Because the land is so low, water from the sea and rivers can rise up through the ground. For this reason, the pumps continue working even the land has been drained (that is, when the water has been pumped away). The dykes contain gates, and through these the water is pumped out. In many parts of Holland, pumps must be working all the time. If they stopped, there will be very bad floods.B 31. Water is the main threat to Holland because ____.A. the sea is too roughB. the land is lower than the seaC. the high and strong dykes can not keep the floods outD. the weather is too roughC 32. “Netherlands” means ____.A. high landB. land of waterC. low landD. land of dykesB 33. Holland is threatened not only by the sea, but also by ____.A. the floods from broken dykesB. the three riversC. the sea tidesD. many passages the three rivers have cut across the countryB 34. The Holland claim land from the sea in order to ____.A. prevent floodsB. make their country largerC. make their country more beautifulD. have more farmlandD 35. If pumps stop working there will be very bad floods because _____.A. the water will run back at high tideB. the sea may break the dykes in rough weatherC. the battle against water will never endD. the land is too low and water can rise up through the drained landPassage 8Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage.Some people believe that international sport creates goodwill between the nations and that if countries play games together they will learn to live together. Others say that the opposite is true: that international contests encourage false national pride and lead to misunderstanding and hatred. There is probably some truth in both arguments, but in recent years the Olympic Games have done little to support the view that sports encourage international brotherhood. Not only was there the tragic incident involving the murder of athletes, but the Games were also ruined by lesser incidents caused principally by minor national contests.One country received its second-place medals with visible indignation after the hockey final. There had been noisy scenes at the end of the hockey match, the losers objecting to final decisions. They were convinced that one of their goals should not have been disallowed and that their opponents' victory was unfair. Their manager was in a rage when he said, “This wasn’t hockey. Hockey and the International Hockey Federation are finished.” The president of the Federation said later that such behavior could result in the suspension of theteam for at least two years.The American basketball team announced that they would not yield first place to Russia, after a disputable end to their contest. The game had ended in disturbance. It was thought at first that the United States had won, by a single point, but it was announced that there were three seconds still to play. A Russian player then threw the ball from one end of the court to the other, and another player propped it into the basket. It was the first time the USA had ever lost an Olympic basketball match. An appeal jury debated the matter for four and a half hours before announcing that the result would stand. The American players then voted not to receive the silver medals.Incidents of this kind will continue as long as sport is played competitively rather than for the love of the game. The suggestion that athletes should compete as individuals, or in non-national teams, might be too much to hope for. But in the present organization of the Olympics there is far too much that encourages aggressive patriotism.C 36. According to the author, recent Olympic Games have____________.A. created goodwill between the nationsB. bred only false national prideC. barely showed any international friendshipD. led to more and more misunderstanding and hatredB 37. What did the manager mean by saying "... Hockey and the International Hockey Federation are finished."?A. His team would no longer take part in the international games.B. Hockey and the Federation are both ruined by the unfair decisions.C. There should be no more hockey matches organized by the Federation.D. The Federation should be dissolved.A 38. The basketball example implied that____________.A. too much patriotism was displayed in the incidentB. the announcement to prolong the match was wrongC. the appeal jury was too hesitant in making the decisionD. the American team was right in rejecting the silver medalsC 39. The author gives the two examples in paragraph 2 and 3 to show____________.A. how false national pride led to undesirable incidents in international gamesB. that sportsmen have been more obedient than they used to beC. that competitiveness in the games discourages international friendshipD. that unfair decisions are common in Olympic GamesA 40. What conclusion can be drawn from the passage?A. The organization of the Olympic Games must be improved.B. Athletes should compete as individuals in the Olympic Games.C. Sport should be played competitively rather than for the love of the game.D. International contests are liable for misunderstanding between nations.II. Vocabulary and StructureB 1. You can't imagine ____________when they received these gifts.A. how they were excitedB. how excited they wereC. how excited they haveD. they were how excitedC 2 _____by a large audience, he felt very nervous and didn't know what to say.A. WatchingB. WatchC. WatchedD. Having watched D 3. It makes no difference to me ____________he will come or not.A. howB. whyC. whenD. whetherC 4. It is politely requested by the hotel management that radios ____________after 11 o'clock at night.A. were not playedB. not to playC. not be playedD. did not playA 5. The International Studies University, ____________in 1951, is a military academy.A. foundedB. has been foundedC. to have been foundedD. was foundedC 6. I'm very grateful for your help and hope to do something for you _____ in the future.A. in exchangeB. insteadC. in returnD. in particularD 7. ____________the 1500's____________the first Europeans explored the coast of California.A. It was not until ... whenB. It is until ... thatC. It is not until ... whenD. It was not until ... that A 8. By the end of last week 611 people from 49 countries _____________ to attend the meeting, with nearly half coming from the United States, Germany and Britain.A. had registeredB. have registeredC. registeredD. were registeredD 9. I'd rather you ____________make any comment on the issue for the time being.A. don'tB. wouldn'tC. shouldn'tD. didn'tB 10. _______, he failed in the college entrance examination again.A. To disappoint his parentsB. To his parents’ disappointmentB. At his parents’ disapproval D. His parents’ disappointing D 11. I can't do my homework with all this noise____________.A. is going onB. to go onC. gone onD. going onA 12. I’m not used to ______ in that impo lite way.A. speakingB. being spokenC. spokenD. be spokenB 13. Liu Fang studies much better than _______student in his class.A. anyB. any otherC. the otherD. otherA 14. You screamed in your sleep last night. You _____ a terrible dream.A. must have hadB. must haveC. must had hadD. must have been。
