2015年英语四级阅读练习及答案(4)

2015年12月四级阅读真题答案完整版2015年12月四级阅读真题答案完整版下面是店铺整理的2015年12月四级阅读真题答案完整版，希望对大家有帮助。

2015年12月四级阅读真题答案完整版1：36. N) saw37. F) decades38. H) globally39. D) chances40. J) occurs41. A) additional42. B) associated43. G) experiences44. M) reduce45. K) populationsHow to Eat Well46. Cooking benefits people in many ways and enables them to connect with one another.答案：D Shouldn't preparing—and consuming—food be a source of comfort, pride, health, well-being, relaxation, sociability?…47. Abundant information about cooking is available either online or on TV.答案：B It's not because fresh ingredients are hard to come by…48. Young people do less cooking at home than the elderly these days.答案：F. Perhaps a return to real cooking needn't be far off…49. Cooking skills can be improved with practice.答案：O. You don't have to hit the grocery store daily, nor do you need an abundance of skill…50. In the mid-20th century, most families ate dinner at home instead of eating out.答案：G. Back in the 1950s most of us grew up in households where Mom cooked virtually everynight…51. Even those short of time or money should be encouraged to cook for themselves and theirfamily答案：E. When I talk about cooking, I'm not talking about creating elaborate dinner parties or three-day science projects.…52. Eating food not cooked by ourselves can cause serious consequences.答案：J. There have been half-hearted but well-publicized efforts by some food companies toreduce calories in their processed food, but….53. To eat well and still save money, people should buy fresh food and cook it themselves.答案：M. To those Americans for whom money is a concern…54. We get a fairly large portion of calories from fast food and snacks.答案：C. And yet we aren't cooking…55. The popularity of TV led to the popularity of frozen food.答案：H. Although frozen dinners were invented in the '40s, their popularity didn't boom untiltelevisions became popular a decade or so later…DBFOGEJMCH56. A) It is disappearing.57. B) electronically.58. D) Spending money is so fast and easy.59. A) It represents a change in the modern world.60. C) He feels reluctant to part with the traditional wallet.61. A) They are culture-related.62. C) They get less sleep on public holidays.63. C) The World Cup.64. B) They want to get sufficient sleep.65. B) Few people really know the importance of sleep.。

2015年6月英语四级答案完整版一、听力（35题，35分）Short Conversations 1. A. The woman should go on playing chess. 2. D. Mary probably knows Sally’s new address. 3. B. His notes are not easy to read. 4. D. The man had better choose another restaurant. 5 .C. He has been looking forward to spring. 6. B. The man appreciates the woman’s help. 7. B. Go to work on foot. 8. A. Temporary closing has disturbed the airport’s operation. Conversion one 9. C. It has a chemical processing plant. 10. D. He’s a salesman. 11.C. Mr. Grand’s personal assistance. 12. B. Provide details of their products and services. Conversion two 13. A. She listened to recordings of many European orchestras. 14. D. She began taking violin lessons as a small child. 15. A. It was the chance of a lifetime. Passage One 16. B) His personal history is little known. 17. D) He was a member of the town council. 18. C) Possible sources of clues about him were lost in a fire. Passage Two 19. A) Theft. 20. B) Have the right documents. 21. B) Use official transport. Passage 3 22. C) Sell inexpensive products. 23. A) At a meeting of top British businesspeople. 24. D) Insulted. 25. B) There should be a limit to one's sense of humour 填空: 26. prospering 27. decade 28. opposite 29. sustain 30. In simple terms 31. establish 32. reasonably 33. take into account 34. misleading 35. using up 分） 二、选词填空（10题，5分）第一套选词填空：第一套选词填空：36 announcing 37 entitled 38 critically 39 potential 40commitment 41develop 42enhance 43retain 44component 45challenges 第二套选词填空：第二套选词填空：36 assets 37 excellent 38 origin 39 up-to-date 40 attend 41 guidelines 42 aware 43 involved 44 especially 45 volunteering 三、匹配和阅读(各1分，共10分) 第一套段落信息匹配：第一套段落信息匹配：文章是：essay-grading software offers professors a break. 46-55 FBMCE QGPJD 四、仔细阅读(（各2分，共20分) 第一套仔细阅读：第一套仔细阅读：56. B) It will protect them from sunburn 57. A) It is ineffective in preventing melanomas 58. 58. D) D) D) Daily Daily Daily application application application of of of sunscreen sunscreen sunscreen helps helps helps reduce reduce reduce the the the incidence incidence incidence of of melanomas 59. C) It is not based on direct observation of the subjects 60. A) A Using both covering up and sunscreen. 61. B) Well-educated people tend to work longer. 62. B) A rapid technological advance. 63. A) Economic growth will slow down. 64. 64. C) C) C) Even Even Even wealthy wealthy wealthy people people people must must must work work work longer longer longer to to to live live live comfortably comfortably comfortably in in retirement. 65. D) Skills are highly valued regardless of age. 第二套仔细阅读：第二套仔细阅读：61. A ）More men taking an extended parental leave. 62. C) Their number is too small to make a difference. 63. A) A long leave will have a negative impact on their career. 64. C) Surprise 第三套仔细阅读第三套仔细阅读61. C) The decline of the grain yield growth. 62. 62. A) A) A) Their Their Their self-sufficiency self-sufficiency is is vital vital vital to to to the the the stability stability stability of of of world world world food food markets. 63. D) They focus more on the increase of animal feed than human food grains. 64. D) The world will be able to feed its population without increasing farmland. 65. B) It is based on a doubtful assumption. 五、翻译（整体给分，共15分）分）第一套第一套中国是世界上最古老的文明之一.构成现代世界基础的许多元素都起源于中国.中国现在拥有世界上发展最快的经济,并正经历着一次新的工业革命中国还启动了雄心勃勃的太空探索计划,其中包括到2020年建成一个太空站. 目前，中国是世界上最大的出口国之一，并正在吸引大量外国投资。

2015年6月大学英语四级阅读真题与答案文章来源：文都教育Passage OneQuestions56to60are based on the following passage.Across the rich world,well-educated people increasingly work longer than the less-skilled.Some65%of American men aged62-74with a professional degree are in the workforce,compared with32%of men with only a high-school certificate.This gap is part of a deepening divide between the well-educated well-off and the unskilled poor.Rapid technological advance has raised the incomes of the highly skilled while squeezing those of the unskilled.The consequences,for individuals and society,are profound.The world is facing an astonishing rise in the number of old people.And they will live longer than ever before.Over the next20years the global population of those aged65or more will almost double,from600million to1.1billion.The experience of the20th century,when greater longevity(长寿)translated into more years in retirement rather than more years at work,has persuaded many observers that this shift will lead to slower economic growth,while the swelling ranks of pensioners will create government budget problems.But the notion of a sharp division between the working young and the idle old misses a new trend,the growing gap between the skilled and the unskilled. Employment rates are falling among younger unskilled people,whereas older skilled folk are working longer.The divide is most extreme in America,where well-educated baby-boomers(二战后生育高峰期出生的美国人)are putting off retirement while many less-skilled younger people have dropped out of the workforce.Policy is partly responsible.Many European governments have abandoned policies that used to encourage people to retire early.Rising life expectancy(预期寿命),combined with the replacement of generous defined-benefit pension plans with less generous defined-contribution ones,means that even the better-off must work longer to have a comfortable retirement.But the changing nature of work also plays a big role.Pay has risen sharply for the highly educated,and those people continue to reap rich rewards into old age because these days the educated elderly are more productive than the preceding generation.Technological change may well reinforce that shift:the skills that complement computers,from management knowhow to creativity,do not necessarily decline with age.注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

2015年6⽉四级考试阅读真题（ReapingtheRewardsofRisk-Taking）Directions: In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it. Eachstatement contains information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraph from which theinformation is derived. You may choose a paragraph more than once. Each paragraph is marked with aletter. Answer the questions by marking the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2.Reaping the Rewards of Risk-TakingA）Since Steve Jobs resigned as chief executive of Apple , much has been said about him as a peerlessbusiness leader who has created immense wealth for shareholders, and guided the design of hitproducts that are transforming entire industries, like music and mobile communications.B）All true, but let’s think different, to borrow the Apple marke ting slogan of years back. Let’s look atMr. Jobs as a role model.C）Above all, he is an innovator（创新者）. His creative force is seen in products such as the iPod,iPhone, and iPad, and in new business models for pricing and distributing music and mobile softwareonline. Studies of innovation come to the same conclusion: you can’t engineer innovation, but you canincrease the odds of it occurring. And Mr. Jobs' career can be viewed as a consistent pursuit ofimproving those odds, both for himself and the companies he has led. Mr. Jobs , of course, hasenjoyed singular success. But innovation, broadly defined, is the crucial ingredient in all economicprogress- higher growth for nations, more competitive products for companies, and more prosperouscareers for individuals.And Mr. Jobs, many experts say, exemplifies what works in the innovationgame.D）“We can look at and learn from Steve Jobs what the essence of American innovation is,” says J ohnKao, an innovation consultant to corporations and governments. Many other nations, Mr. John Kaonotes, are now ahead of the United States in producing what are considered the raw materials ofinnovation.These include government financing for scientific research , national policies to supportemerging industries, educational achievement, engineers and scientists graduated, even the speeds ofculture of other countries doesn’t support the kind of innovation that Steve Jobsexemplifies, as America does,” Mr. Jo hn Kao says. F）Workers of every rank are told these days that wide-ranging curiosity and continuous learning are vitalto thriving in the modern economy. Formal education matters, career counselors say, but real-lifeexperience is often even more valuable.G）An adopted child, growing up in Silicon Valley, Mr. Jobs displayed those traits early on. He wasfascinated by electronics as a child, building Heathkit do-it-yourself projects, like radios. Mr. Jobsdropped out of Reed College after only a semester and traveled around India in search of spiritualenlightenment, before returning to Silicon Valley to found Apple with his friend, Stephen Wozniak,an engineering wizard（奇才）. Mr. Jobs was forced out of Apple in 1985, went off and founded twoother companies, Next and Pixar, before returning to Apple in 1996 and becoming chief executive in1997.H）His path was unique, but innovation experts say the pattern of exploration is not unusual. “ It’s oftenpeople like Steve Jobs who can draw from a deep reservoir ofdiverse experiences that often generatebreakthrough ideas and insights,” says Hal Gregersen, a professor at the European Institute ofBusiness Administration.I）Mr. Gregersen is a co-author of a new book, The Innovator’s DNA, which is based on an eight-yearstudy of 5 000 entrepreneurs（创业者）and executives worldwide. His two collaborators and co-authorsare Jeff Dyer, a professor at Brigham Young University, and Clayton Christensen, a professor at theHarvard Business School, whose 1997 book The Innovator’s Dilemma po pularized the concept of“disruptive（颠覆性的）innovation.”J）The academics identify five traits that are common to the disruptive innovators: questioning,experimenting, observing, associating and networking. Their bundle of characteristics echoes theceaseless curiosity and willingness to take risks noted by other experts. Networking, Mr. HalGregersen explains, is less about career-building relationships than a consistent search for new ideas.Associating, he adds, is the ability to make idea-producing connections by linking concepts fromdifferent disciplines.K）“Innovators engage in these mental activities regularly,” Mr. Gregersen says. “ It’sa habit for them. ”Innovative companies, according to the authors, typically enjoyhigher valuations in the stock market,which they call an “innovation premium （溢价）．”It is calculated by estimating the share of a company’s value that cannot be accounted for by its current products and cash flow. The innovationpremium tries to quantify（量化）investors' bets that a company will do even better in the futurebecause of innovation.L）Apple, by their calculations, had a 37 percent innovation premium during Mr.Jobs' first term withthe company. His years in exile resulted in a 31 percent innovation discount. After his return, Apple’s fortunes improved gradually at first, and improved markedly starting in 2005, yielding a 52 percentinnovation premium since then.M）There is no conclusive proof, but Mr. Hal Gregersen says it is unlikely that Mr.Jobs could havereshaped industries beyond computing. as he has done in his second term at Apple, without theexperience outside the company, especially at Pixar-the computer-animation（动画制作）studio thatcreated a string of critically and commercially successful movies, such as “Toy Story" and “ Up. ”N）Mr. Jobs suggested much the same thing during a commencement address to the graduating class atStanford University in 2005. “ It turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that couldhave ever happened to me,”he told the students. Mr. Jobs also spoke of perseverance（坚持）and willpower.“ Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick ,” he said. “Don’t lose faith. ”O）Mr. Jobs ended his commencement talk with a call to innovation, both in one’s choice of work and in one’s life. Be curious, experiment, take risks, he said to the students. His advice was emphasized bythe words on the back of the final edition of The Whole Earth Catalog, which he quoted:“Stayhungry. Stay foolish. ”“And,”Mr. Jobs said,“I have always wished that for mys elf. And now, asyou graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you. ”46. Steve Jobs called on Stanford graduates to innovate in his commencement address.47. Steve Jobs considered himself lucky to have been fired once by Apple.48.Steve Jobs once ⼭ed computers to make movies that were commercial hits.49. Many governments have done more than the US government in providing the rawmaterials forinnovation.50. Great innovators are good at connecting concepts from various academic fields.51. Innovation is vital to driving economic progress.52. America has a social environment that is particularly favorable to innovation.53. Innovative ideas often come from diverse experiences.54. Real-life experience is often more important than formal education for careersuccess.55. Apple’s fortunes suffered from an innovation discount during Jobs’ absence.。

2015年6月大学英语四级仔细阅读真题和答案来源：文都教育2015年6月大学英语六级考试已经结束，文都教育考后整理了仔细阅读题目的参考答案，供大家参考。

Passage TwoQuestions 61-65 are based on the following passage.Some of the world’s most significant problems never hit headlines.One example comes from agriculture. Food riots and hunger make news. But the trend lying behind these matters is rarely talked about. This is the decline in the growth in yields of some of the world’s major crops.A new study by the University of Minnesota and McGill University in Montreal looks at where, and how far, this decline is occurring.The authors take a vast number of data points for the four most important crops: rice, wheat corn and soybeans(大豆). They find that on between 24% and 39% of all harvested areas, the improvement in yields that tood place before the 1980s slowed down in the 1990s and 2000s.There are two worrying features of the slowdown. One is that it has been particularly sharp in the world’s most populous(人口多的) countries, India and China. Their ability to feed themselves has been an important source of relative stability both within the countries and on world food markets. That self-sufficiency cannot be taken for granted if yields continue to slow down or reverse.Second, yield growth has been lower in wheat and rice than in corn and soyabeans. This is problematic because wheat and rice are more important as foods, accounting for around half of all calories consumed. Corn and soyabeans are more important as feed grains. The authors note that “we have preferentially focused our crop improvement efforts on feeding animals and cars rather than on crops that feed people and are the basis of food security in much of the world.”The report qualifies the more optimistic findings of another new paper which suggests that the world will not have to dig up a lot more land for farming in order to feed 9 billion people in 2050, as the Food and Agriculture Organisation has argued.Instead, it says, thanks to slowing population growth, land currently ploughted up for crops might be able to revert(回返)to forest or wilderness. This could happen. The trouble is that the forecast assumes continued improvements in yields, which may not actually happen.注意:此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

2015年大学英语四级阅读理解题及解析Merchant and passenger ships are generally required to have a life preserver for every person aboard and in many cases, a certain percentage of smaller sizes for children. According to United States requirements, life preservers must design, reversible capable of being quickly adjusted to fit the uninitiated individual, and must be so designed as to support the wearer in the water in an upright or slightly backward position.Sufficient buoyancy(浮力) to support the wearer should be retained by the life preserver after 48 hours in the water, and it should be reliable even after long period of storage. Thus it should be made of materials resistant to sunlight, gasoline, and oils, and it should be not easily set on fire.?The position in which the life preserver will support a person who jumps or falls into the water is most important, as is its tendency to turn the wearer in the water from a face-down position to an upright or slightly backward position, with his face clear of the water, even when the wearer is exhausted or unconscious.The method of adjustment to the body should be simple, and self-evident to uninitiated persons even in the dark under the confused conditions, which follow a disaster. Thus, the life be reversible that it is nearly impossible to get it on wrong. Catches, straps, and ties should be kept to a minimum. In addition, the life preserver must be adjustable to the wide variety of shapes and sizes of wearers, since this greatly affects the position of floating and the self-righting qualities. A suitable life also be comfortable to wear at all times, in and out of the water, not so heavy as to encourage to take it off on shipboard while the ship is in danger, nor so burdensome that it hinders a person in the water whiletrying to swim.1. The passage is mainly about____.A) the uses of life preserversB) the design of life preserversC) the materials for life preserversD) the buoyancy of life preservers2. According to the passage, a life be first of all ____.A) adjustable B) comfortable C) self-evident D) self-righting3. United States Coast Guard does NOT require the life preserver to be made ____.A) with as few strings as possibleB) capable of being worn on both sidesC) according to each wearer's sizeD) comfortable and light to wear4. By “the uninitiated individual” (Para. 1, Line. 4) the author refers to the person ____.A) who has not been instructed how to use a life preserverB) who has a little experience in using a life preserverC) who uses a life preserver without permissionD) who becomes nervous before a disaster5. What would happen if a person were supported by the life preserver in a wrong position?A) The waves would move him backwards.B) The water would choke him.C) He would immediately sink to the bottom.D) He would be exhausted or unconscious.答案与解析：1. B文章主要讲述了救生衣的设计。

2015年12月英语四级阅读答案解析2015年12月英语四级阅读答案解析【阅读】选词填空第一篇For manyAmericans, 2013 ended with an unusually bitter cold snap. LateNovember and December saw early snow and bone-chilling temperaturesin much of the country, part of a year when—for the first time intwo decades—record-cold days will likely turn out to haveoutnumbered record-warm ones. But the U.S. was the exception:November was the warmest ever globally, and the provisional dataindicates that 2013 is likely to have been the fourth-hottest yearon record.Enjoy thesnow now, because chances are good that 2014 will be evenhotter—perhaps the hottest year since records have been kept.That’s because,scientists are predicting, 2014 wi ll be an El Niño year.El Niño,Spanish for “the child”, occurs when surface ocean waters in thesouthern Pacific become abnormally warm. So large is the Pacific,covering 30% of the planet’s surface, that the specific energygenerated by its warming is enough to touch off a series of weatherchanges around the world. El Niño are associated with abnormallydry conditions in the Southeast Asia and Australia. They can leadto extreme rain in parts of North and South America, even assouthern Africa experiences dry weather. Marine life may beaffected too: El Niño the rising of the cold, nutrient-rich waterthat supports large fish populations, and the unusually warm oceantemperatures can destroy coral.参考答案36. N. saw 第一空显然缺少谓语，优先考虑动词，结合语义并根据Late November andDecember可以推出应选择过去式动词，故答案锁定saw.37. F. decades 根据two，首选复数名词，结合语义，“for the first time in the two decades”,二十年来头一次。

2015年大学英语四级阅读习题及答案There are three kinds of goals: short-term,medium-range and long-term goals. Short-range goals are those that usually deal with current activities,which we can apply on a daily basis.Such goals can be achieved in a week or less,or two weeks,or possible months.It should be remembered that just as a building is no stronger than its foundation ,out long-term goals cannot amount to very munch without the achievement of solid short-term goals.Upon completing our short-term goals,we should date the occasion and then add new short-term goals that will build on those that have been completed.The intermediate goals bukld on the foundation of the short-range goals.They might deal with just one term of school or the entire school year,or they could even extend for several years.Any time you move a step at a time,you should never allow yourself to become discouraged or overwhelmed. As you complete each step,you will enforce the belief in your ability to grow adn succeed.And as your list of completion dates grow,your motivation and desire will increase.Long-range goals may be related to our dreams of the future. They might cover five years or more. Life is not a static thing.We should never allow a long-term goal to limit us or our course of action.1.Our long-term goals mean a lot______.A.if we complete our short-range goalsB.if we cannot reach solid short-term goalsC.if we write down the datesD.if we put forward some plans2.New short-term goals are bulid upon______.A.two yearsB.long-term goalsC.current activitiesD.the goals that have been completed3.When we complete each step of our goals ,______.A.we will win final successB.we are overwhelmedC.we should build up confidence of successD.we should strong desire for setting new goals4.Once our goals are drawn up,_______.A.we should stick to them until we complete themB.we may change our goals as we have new ideas and oppor rtunitiesC.we had better wait for the exciting news of successD.we have made great decision5.It is implied but not stated in the passage that ______.A.those who habe long-term goals will succeedB.writing down the dates may discourage youC.the goal is only a guide for us to reach our desinationD.every should have a goal 答案：a d c b c。

2015年6月大学英语四级考试长篇阅读原文及答案来源：文都教育2015年6月13日英语四级考试已经结束，本次考试为多题多卷，文都四六级考试网收集整理了不同版本试题及参考答案，供考生参考，下面是英语四级长篇阅读原文及答案。

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.Answer the questions by marking the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet2.Essay-Grading Software Offers Professors a Break[A]Imagine taking a college exam,and,instead of handing in a blue book and getting a grade from a professor a few weeks later,clicking the“send”button when you are done and receiving a grade back instantly,your essay scored by a software program.And then,instead of being done with that exam,imagine that the system would immediately let you rewrite the test to try to improve your grade.[B]EdX,the nonprofit enterprise founded by Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT)to offer courses on the Internet,has just introduced such a system and will make its automated(自动的)software available free on the Web to any institution that wants to use it.The software uses artificial intelligence to grade student essays and short written answers, freeing professors for other tasks.[C]The new service will bring the educational consortium(联盟)into a growing conflict over the role of automation in education.Although automated grading systems for multiple-choice and true-false tests are now widespread,the use of artificial intelligence technology to grade essay answers has not yet received widespread acceptance by educators and has many critics.[D]Anant Agarwal,an electrical engineer who is president of EdX,predicted that theinstant-grading software would be a useful teaching tool,enabling students to take tests and write essays over and over and improve the quality of their answers.He said the technology would offer distinct advantages over the traditional classroom system,where students often wait days or weeks for grades.“There is a huge value in leaning with instant feedback,”Dr.Agarwal said.“Students are telling us they learn much better with instant feedback.”[E]But skeptics（怀疑者）say the automated system is no match for live teachers.One longtime critic,Les Perelman,has drawn national attention several times for putting together nonsense essays that have fooled software grading programs into giving high marks.He has also been highly critical of studies claiming that the software compares well to human graders.[F]He is among a group of educators who last month began circulating a petition（呼吁）opposing automated assessment software.The group,which calls itself Professsionals Against Machine Scoring of Student Essays in High-Stakes Assessment,has collected nearly2,000signatures, including some from famous people like Noam Chomsky.[G]“Let’s face the realities of automatic essay scoring,”the group’s statement reads in part.“Computers cannot‘read’.They cannot measure the essentials of effective written communication: accuracy,reasoning,adequacy of evidence,good sense,ethical(伦理的)position,convincing argument,meaningful organization,and clarity,among others.”.[H]But EdX expects its software to be adopted widely by schools and universities.It offers free online classes from Harvard,MIT and the University of Californian-Berkeley;this fall,it will add classes from Wellesley,Georgetown and the University of Texas.In all,12universities participate in EdX,which offers certificates for course completion and has said that it plans to continue to expand next year,including adding international schools.[I]The EdX assessment tool requires human teachers,or graders,to first grade100essays or essay questions.The system then uses a variety of machine-learning techniques to train itself to be able to grade any number of essays or answers automatically and almost instantly.The software will assign a grade depending on the scoring system created by the teacher,whether it is a letter grade or numerical(数字的)rank.[J]EdX is not the first to use the automated assessment technology,which dates to earlycomputers in the1960s.There is now a range of companies offering commercial programs to grade written test answers,and four states—Louisiana,North Dakota,Utah and West Virginia—are using some form of the technology in secondary schools.A fifth,Indiana,has experimented with it.In some cases the software is used as a“second reader,”to check the reliability of the human graders.[K]But the growing influence of the EdX consortium to set standards is likely to give the technology a boost.On Tuesday,Stanford announced that is would work with EdX to develop a joint educational system that will make use of the automated assessment technology.[L]Two start-ups,Coursera and Udacity,recently founded by Stanford faculty members to create “massive open online courses,”or MOOCs,are also committed to automated assessment systems because of the value of instant feedback.“It allows students to get immediate feedback on their work,so that learning turns into a game,with students naturally gravitating(吸引)toward resubmitting the work until they get it right,”said Daphne Koller,a computer scientist and a founder of Coursera.[M]Last year the Hewlett Foundation,a grant-making organization set up by one of the Hewlett-Packard founders and his wife,sponsored two$100,000prizes aimed at improving software that grades essays and short answers.More than150teams entered each category.A winner of one of the Hewlett contests,Vik Paruchuri,was hired by EdX to help design its assessment software.[N]“One of our focuses is to help kids learn how to think critically,”said Victor Vuchic,a program officer at the Hewlett Foundation.“It’s probably impossible to do that with multiple-choice tests. The challenge is that this requires human graders,and so they cost a lot more and they take a lot more time.”[O]Mark D.Shermis,a professor at the University of Akron in Ohio,supervised the Hewlett Foundation’s contest on automated essay scoring and wrote a paper about the experiment.In his view,the technology—though imperfect—has a place in educational settings.[P]With increasingly large classes,it is impossible for most teachers to give students meaningful feedback on writing assignments,he said.Plus,he noted,critics of the technology have tended tocome from the nation’s best universities,where the level of teaching is much better than at most schools.[Q]“Often they come from very famous institutions where,in fact,they do a much better job of providing feedback than a machine ever could,”Dr.Shermis said.“There seems to be a lack of appreciation of what is actually going on in the real world.”注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

TEST FOR ENGLISH MAJORS (2015) -GRADE FOUR-PART I DICTATIONPART II LISTENING COMPREHENSIONSECTION A CONVERSATIONSConversation one1. Why is the trip to Mars a one-way trip?A. The return trip is too expensive.B. There is no technology to get people back.C. People don’t want to return.D. The return trip is too risky.2. According to the man, what is more important for those recruits?A. Intelligence.B. Health.C. Skills.D. Calmness.3. What is the last part of the conversation about?A. The kind of people suitable for the trip.B. Interests and hobbies of the speakers.C. Recruitment of people for the trip.D. Preparation for the trip to Mars.Conversation Two4. What is showrooming?A. Going to the high street.B. Visiting everyday shops.C. Buying things like electrical goods.D. Visiting shops and buying online.5. According to the conversation, the man had bought all the following things online EXCEPTA. shoesB. CDsC. cameraD. food6. According to the conversation, the percentage of people who showroomed while Christmasshopping wasA. 3%B. 33%C. 42%D. 24%7. One reason for people to showroom is that theyA. want to know more about pricingB. can return the product laterC. want to see the real thing firstD. can bargain for a lower shop priceConversation Three8. What is the conversation mainly about?A. How to avoid clashes of exams.B. How to schedule exams.C. How to use the faculty lounge.D. How to choose the courses.9. What does the student have to do first in order to take the exams?A. To choose a date on the draft schedule.B. To find the information on the bulletin board.C. To draw up the final schedule.D. To arrange an invigilator.10. According to the conversation, the Dean willA. sign the sheet in the faculty loungeB. take care of the bulletin boardC. consult the studentsD. finalize the exam scheduleSECTION B PASSAGESPassage One11. Which of the following cities has the oldest Chinatown in North America?A. New York.B. San Francisco.C. Boston.D. San Diego.12. The Chinatown in San Francisco attracts tourists a year.A. 20 ,000B. 100 ,000C. 7 millionD. 17 million13. Where can tourists see the fish markets?A. In Stockton Street.B. In Grant Avenue.C. In Portsmouth Square.D. In Bush Street.Passage Two14. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?A. Obesity can damage one’s health.B. Obesity is a growing problem all over the world.C. Obesity is directly related to one’s habit.D. Obesity has affected both boys and girls.15. The purpose of the three-year study is to .A. find out why some children find it difficult to go to sleepB. learn more about the link between sleep and weightC. identify the ways parents reduce their kids’ weightD. see if there is difference in sleep patterns over the period16. According to the study, the daily healthy sleep time for the 3rd to 6th graders should be around ___ hours.A. 8B. 9C. 10D. 1117. According to the passage, obesity is most likely related to __ .A. sleep timeB. genderC. raceD. parentsPassage Three18. According to a number of students, __ __ is the main factor for early-age smoking.A. genderB. personalityC. environmentD. money19. Which of the following statements is CORRECT?A. Very few continue smoking throughout their teenage years.B. Most early-age smokers soon stop experimenting.C. Some early-age smokers never go beyond experimenting.D. Children quickly become regular smokers by carrying cigarettes.20. All the following are features of smokers EXCEPT ___ .A. strong peer influenceB. low sense of achievementC. high sense of rebellionD. close family relationshipSECTION C NEWS BROADCASTNews Item 121. Why were some children offered only fruit and milk for lunch?A. The school stopped providing school lunch.B. Their parents failed to pay for school lunch.C. Some parents preferred fruit and milk for lunch.D. These children chose to have something different.22. How did parents react to the school’s way of handling the situation?A. They were upsetB. They were furious.C. They were surprised.D. They were sad.News Item 223. According to the news, what is the main advantage of the digital key?A. Guests can pay without going to the front desk.B. Guests can go direct to their rooms.C. Guests can check out any time.D. Guests can make room reservations.24. The hotel company intends to have the system in ___ of its hotels in the next three months.A. 2B. 3C. 100D. 150News Item 325. According to the court ruling, Shrien Dewani _ ___ .A. will return to the U.K. for medical treatmentB. will remain in South Africa for medical treatmentC. will stand trial in South Africa once proved fitD. will be extradited even if he is unfit to stand trial26. What was Dewani accused of?A. Having his wife killed.B. Killing his wife in the U.K.C. Being involved in a taxi accident.D. Hiring a crew of hit men.News Item 427. The U.N. new vote would allow all the following EXCEPT ___ .A. the use of force by European Union troopsB. the suspension of an existing arms embargoC. the extension of U.N. peacekeeping missionD. the ban on travel and freeze of assetsNews Item 528. What is the news mainly about?A. Causes of early death in Russia.B. Behavior of alcoholics.C. Causes of alcohol poisoning.D. Number of death over 10 years.News Item 629. The total investment in film-making in Britain in 2012 was __ __ .A. £945 millionB. £1.07 billionC. £500,000D. £87,00030. Hollywood studios prefer to make films in Britain because ___ .A. The UK is a good film locationB. The cast usually comes from BritainC. Hollywood emphasizes qualityD. Production cost can be reducedPART III CLOZEElectricity is such a part of our everyday lives and so much taken for granted nowadays31__ _werarely think twice when we switch on the light or turn on the TV set.At night,roads are brigh tly lit,enabling people and32___to move freely.Neon lighting used in advertising has become part of the33___of every modern city.In the home,many34___devices are powered by electric ity.35___when we turn off the bedside lamp and are36___asleep,electricity is working for us,37___ ourrefrigerators,heating our water,or keeping our rooms air-conditioned.Every day,trains,busesandsubways take us to and from work.We rarely38___to consider why or how they run——39 ___something goes wrong.In the summer of1959,something40___go wrong with the power-plant that provided New Yorkwith electricity.For a great many hours,life came almost to a41___.Trains refused to move a nd the people in them sat in the dark,42___to do anything;lifts stopped working,so that43_ __you were lucky enough not to be44.___between two floors,you had the unpleasant task of finding your way down45___of stairs.Famous streets like Broadway and Fifth Avenue i n a(n)46___became asgloomy and uninviting47___the most remote back streets.People were afraid to leave their h ouses,48___.although the police had been ordered to49___in case of emergency,they were just a sconfused and50___as anybody else.31. A. that B. thus C. as D. so32. A. car B. truck C. traffic D. pedestrians33. A. appearance B. character C. distinction D. surface34. A. money-saving B. time-saving C. energy-saving D. labor-saving35. A. Only B. Rarely C. Even D. Frequently36. A. fast B. quite C. closely D. quickly37. A. moving B. starting C. repairing D. driving38. A. trouble B. bother C. hesitate D. remember39. A. when B. if C. until D. after40. A. did B. would C. could D. Should41. A. pause B. terminal C. breakdown D. standstill42. A. incompetent B. powerless C. hesitant D. helpless43. A. although B. when C. as D. even if44. A. trapped B. placed C. positioned D. locked45. A. steps B. levels C. flights D. floors46. A. time B. instant C. point D. minute47. A. like B. than C. for D. as48. A. for B. and C. but D. or49. A. stand aside B. stand down C. standby D. stand in50. A. aimless B. helpless C. unfocused D. undecidedPART IV GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY51. When you have finished with that book, don’t forget to put it back on the shelf,____?A. don’t youB. do youC. will youD. won’t you52. Mary is __ ___ hardworking than her sister, but she failed in the exam.A. no lessB. no moreC. not lessD. not so53. Which of the following statements is INCORRECT?A. Only one out of six were present at the meeting.B. Ten dollars was stolen from the cash register.C. Either my sister or my brother is wrong.D. Five miles seem like a long walk to me.54. Which of the italicized parts expresses a future tense?A. My friend teaches chemistry in a school.B. I’ll give it to you after I return.C. What is the matter with you?D. London stands on the River Thames.55. It is not so much the language ____ the cultural background that makes the filmdifficult to understand.A. butB. norC. likeD. as56. There is no doubt ____ the committee has made the right decision on the housing project.A. whyB. thatC. whetherD. when57. All the President’s Men ____ one of the important books for scholars who study theWatergate Scandal.A. remainsB. remainedC. remainD. is remaining58. If you explained the situation to your lawyer, he ___ __ able to advise you muchbetter than I can.A. will beB. wasC. would beD. were59. Which of the following is a stative verb (静态动词)?A. DrinkB. CloseC. RainD. Belong60. Which of the following italicized parts indicates a subject-verb relation?A. The man has a large family to support.B. She had no wish to quarrel with her brother.C. He was the last guest to leave.D. Mary needs a friend to talk to.61. The following are all correct responses to “Who told the news to the teacher?”EXCEPT __ ___?A. Bob did itB. Bob did soC. Bob did thatD. Bob did.62. Which of the following is INCORRECT?A. Another two girlsB. Few wordsC. This workD. A bit of flowers63. Which of the following italicized words does NOT indicate willingness?A. What will you do when you graduate?B. They will be home by now.C. Who will go with me?D. Why will you go there alone?64. When one has good health, ___ should feel fortunateA. youB. sheC. heD. we65. There ____ nothing more for discussion, the meeting came to an end half an hour earlier.A. to beB. to have beenC. beD. being66. Two of her brothers were _ __ during the Second World War.A. called upB. called onC. called forD. called out67. Bottles from this region sell __ ____ at about $50 a case.A. entirelyB. totallyC. wholesaleD. together68. The product contains no ____ colours, flavours, or preservatives.A. fakeB. artificialC. falseD. wrong69. Davis accepted the defeat in the semi-final with good grace. The underlined part isclosest in meaning to ___ ___.A. cheerfullyB. wholeheartedlyC. politelyD. quietly70. __ ___ and business leaders were delighted at the decision to hold the national motorfair in the city.A. CivilB. CivilizedC. CivilianD. Civic71. The city council is planning a huge road-building programme to ease congestion. Theunderlined part means __ ___.A. calmB. relieveC. comfortD. still72. His unfortunate appearance was offset by an attractive personality. The underlinedpart means all the following EXCEPT ____.A. improvedB. made up forC. balancedD. compensated for73. The doctor said that the gash in his check required stitches. The underlined part means ____.A. lumpB. depressionC. swellingD. cut74. During the economic crisis, they had to cut back production and __ ___ workers.A. lay offB. lay intoC. lay downD. lay aside75. The university consistently receives a high __ ____ for the quality of its teaching and research.A. standardB. evaluationC. ratingD. comment76. To mark its one hundredth anniversary, the university held a series of activitiesincluding conferences, film shows, etc. The underlined part means __ ___.A. signifyB. celebrateC. symbolizeD. suggest77. His fertile mind keeps turning out new ideas. The underlined part means _ ____.A. abundantB. unbelievableC. productiveD. generative78. The local news paper has a ___ __ of 100,000 copies a day.A. spreadB. circulationC. motionD. flow79. These issues were discussed at length during the meeting. The underlined part means __ ___.A. eventuallyB. subsequentlyC. lastlyD. fully80. A couple of young people were giving out leaflets in front of the department store.The underlined part means __ ___.A. distributingB. handlingC. dividingD. arrangingPART V READING COMPREHENSIONText AInundated by more information than we can possibly hold in our head, we're increasingly handing off the job of remembering to search engines and smart phones. Google is even reportedly working on eyeglasses that could one day recognize faces and supply details about whoever you're looking at. But new research shows that outsourcing our memory – and expecting that information will be continually and instantaneously available --is changing our cognitive habits.Research conducted by Betsy Sparrow, an assistant professor of psychology at Columbia University, has identified three new realities about how we process information in the Internet age. First, her experiments showed that when we don't know the answer to a question, we nowthink about where we can find the nearest Web connection instead of the subject of the question itself. A second revelation is that when we expect to be able to find informationagain later on, we don't remember it as well as when we think it might become unavailable. And then there is the researchers' final observation: the expectation that we'll he able to locate inf orination down the line leads us to form a memory not of the fact itself but of where we'II be able to find it.But this handoff comes with a downside. Skills like critical thinking and analysis must develop in the context of facts: we need something to think and reason about, after all. And these facts can't be Googled as we go;they need to be stored in the original hard drive, our long-term memory. Especially in the case of children, "factual knowledge must precede skill," says Daniel Willingham, a professor of psychology, at the University of Virginia -- meaning that the days of drilling the multiplication table and memorizing the names of the Presidents aren't over quite yet. Adults, too, need to recruit a supply of stored knowledge in order to situate and evaluate new information they encounter. You can't Google context.Last, there's the possibility, increasingly terrifying to contemplate, that our machines fail us. As Sparrow puts it, "The experience of losing our Internet connection becomes more and more like losing a friend." If you're going to keep your memory on your smart phone, better make sure it's fully charged.81. Google’s eyeglasses are supposed to _ __.[A]improve our memory[B]function like memory[C]help us see faces better[D]work like smart phones82. According to the passage, “cognitive habits” refers to _ __.[A] how we deal with information[B] functions of human memory[C] the amount of information[D] the availability of information83. Which of the following statements about Sparrow’s research is CORRECT?[A] We remember people and things as much as before.[B] We remember more Internet connections than before.[C] We pay equal attention to location and content of information.[D]We tend to remember location rather than the core of facts.84. What does the author mean by “context”?[A]It refers to long-term memory.[B]It refers to a new situation.[C]It refers to a store of knowledge.[D]It refers to the search engine.85. What is the implied message of the author?[A]Web connections aid our memory.[B]People differ in what to remember.[C]People keep memory on smart phones.[D]People need to exercise their memory.Text BI was a second-year medical student at the university, and was on my second day of rounds at a nearby hospital. My university's philosophy was to get students seeing patients early in their education. Nice idea,but it overlooked one detail:second-year students know next to nothing about medicine.Assigned to my team that day was an attending - a senior faculty member who was there mostly to make patients feel they weren't in the hands of amateurs. Many attendings were researchers who didn't have much recent hospital experience. Mine was actually an arthritis specialist. Also along was a resident (the realboss, with a staggering mastery of medicine, at least to a rookie like myself). In addition there were two interns(住院实习医生). These guys were just as green as I was，but in a scarier way: they had recently graduated from the medical school, so they were technically MDs.I began the day at 6:30 am. An intern and I did a quick check of our eight patients; later, we were to present our findings to the resident and then to the attending. I had three patients and the intern had the other five - piece of cake.But when I arrived in the room of 71-year-old Mr. Adams，he was sitting up in bed, sweating heavily and panting (喘气). He'd just had a hip operation and looked terrible. I listened to his lungs with my stethoscope, but they sounded clear. Next I checked the logof his vital signs and saw that his respiration and heart rate had been climbing, but his temperature was steady. It didn't seem like heart failure, nor did it appear to be pneumonia. So I asked Mr. Adams what he thought was going on."It's really hot in here, Doc," he replied.So I attributed his condition to the stuffy room and told him the rest of the team would return in a few hours. He smiled and feebly waved goodbye.At 8:40 am., during our team meeting, "Code Blue Room 307!" blared from the loudspeaker. I froze.That was Mr. Adams's room.When we arrived, he was motionless.The autopsy (尸体解剖) later found Mr. Adams had suffered a massive pulmonary embolism (肺部栓塞). A blood clot had formed in his leg, worked its way to his lungs, and cut his breathing capacity in half. His symptoms had been textbook: heavy perspiration and shortness of breath despite clear lungs. The only thing was: I hadn't read that chapter in the textbook yet. And I was too scared, insecure, and proud to ask a real doctor for help.This mistake has haunted me for nearly 30 years, but what's particularly frustrating is that the same medical education system persists. Who knows how many people have died or suffered harm at the hands of students as naive as I, and how many more will?86. Why was the author doing rounds in a hospital?[A]He himself wanted to have practice.[B]Students of all majors had to do so.[C]It was part of his medical training.[D]He was on a research team.87. We learn that the author’s team members had __.[A]much practical experience[B]adequate knowledge[C]long been working there [D]some professional deficiency88. While the author was examining Mr. Adams, all the following symptoms caught hisattention EXCEPT __ __.[A]moving difficulty [B]steady temperature[C]faster heart rate [D]breathing problem89. “His symptoms had been textbook” means that his symptoms were _ ___.[A]part of the textbook[B]no longer in the textbook[C]recently included in the textbook[D]explained in the textbook90. At the end of the passage, the author expresses __ __ about the medical education system.[A]optimism[B]hesitation[C]concern[D]supportTEXT CThe war on smoking, now five decades old and counting, is one of the nation's greatest public health success stories - but not for everyone.As a whole, the country has made amazing progress. In 1964, four in ten adults in the US smoked; today fewer than two in ten do. But some states - Kentucky, South Dakota and Alabama to name just a few - seem to have missed the message that smoking is deadly.Their failure is the greatest disappointment in an effort to save lives that was started on Jan. 11, 1964, by the first Surgeon General's Report on Smoking and Health. Its finding that smoking is a cause of lung cancer and other diseases was major news then. The hazards of smoking were just starting to emerge.The report led to cigarette warning labels, a ban on TV ads and eventually ananti-smoking movement that shifted the nation's attitude on smoking. Then, smokers were cool. Today, many are outcasts, rejected by restaurants, bars, public buildings and even their own workplaces. Millions of lives have been saved.The formula for success is no longer guesswork: Adopt tough warning labels, air public service ads, fund smoking cessation programs and impose smoke-free laws. But the surest way to prevent smoking, particularly among price-sensitive teens, is to raise taxes. If you can stop them from smoking, you've won the war. Few people start smoking after turning 19.The real-life evidence of taxing power is powerful. The 10 states with the lowest adult smoking rates slap an average tax of $2.42 on every pack -- three times the average tax in the states with the highest smoking rates.New York has the highest cigarette tax in the country, at $4.35 per pack, and just 12 percent of teens smoke, far below the national average of 18 percent. Compare that with Kentucky, where taxes are low (60 cents), smoking restrictions are weak and the teen smoking rate is double New York's. Other low-tax states have similarly dismal records.Enemies of high tobacco taxes cling to the tired argument that they fall disproportionately on the poor. True, but so do the deadly effects of smoking, far worse than a tax. The effect of the taxes is amplified further when the revenue is used to fund initiatives that help smokers quit or persuade teens not to start.Anti-smoking forces have plenty to celebrate this week, having helped avoid 8 million premature deaths in the past 50 years. But as long as 3,000 adolescents and teens take their first puff each day, the war is not won.91. What does "counting" mean in the context?[A] Continuing. [B] Including.[C] Calculating. [D] Relying on.92. According to the context, "Their failure" refers to__ _____.[A] those adults who continue to smoke[B] those states that missed the message[C] findings of the report[D] hazards of smoking93. The following are all efforts that led to the change of attitude on smoking EXCEPT_____.[A] rejecting by the public[B] cigarette warning labels[C] anti-smoking campaigns[D] anti-smoking legislation94. According to the author, raising tax on cigarettes___ ____.[A] is unfair to the poor [B] is an effective measure[C] increases public revenue [D] fails to solve the problem95. What is the passage mainly about?[A] How to stage anti-smoking campaigns.[B] The effects of the report on smoking and health.[C] Tax as the surest path to cut smoking.[D] The efforts to cut down on teenage smoking.TEXT DAttachment Parenting is not Indulgent Parenting. Attachment parents do not "spoil" their children. Spoiling is done when a child is given everything that they want regardless of what they need and regardless of what is practical. Indulgent parents give toys for tantrums(发脾气), ice cream for breakfast. Attachment parents don't give their children everything that they want, they give their children everything that they need. Attachment parents believe that love and comfort are free and necessary. Not sweets or toys.Attachment Parenting is not "afraid of tears" parenting. Our kids cry. The difference is that we understand that tantrums and tears come from emotions and not manipulation. And ourchildren understand this too, They cry and have tantrums sometimes, of course. But they do this because their emotions are so overwhelming that they need to get it out. They do not expect to be "rewarded" for their strong negative emotions; they simply expect that we will listen. We pick up our babies when they cry, and we respond to the tears of our older children because we believefirmly that comfort is free, love is free, and that when a child has need for comfort and love, it is our job to provide those things. We are not afraid of tears. We don't avoid them. We hold our children through them and teach them that when they are hurt or frustrated we are here to comfort them and help them work through their emotions.Attachment Parenting is not Clingy Parenting. I do not cling to my children, In feet, I'm pretty free-range. As soon as they can move they usually move away from me and let me set up a chase as they crawl, run, skip and hop on their merry way to explore the world, Sure, I carry them and hug them and chase them and kiss them and rock them and sleep with them, But this is not me following them everywhere and pulling them back to me. This is me being a home base. The "attachment" comes from their being allowed to attach to us, not from us attaching to them like parental leeches.Attachment Parenting is not Selfish Parenting. It is also not selfless parenting, We are not doing it for us, and we are not doing it to torment ourselves,Attachment parenting is not Helicopter Parenting. I don't hover, I supervise, I follow, I teach, I demonstrate, I explain. I don't slap curious hands away, I show how to do things safely, I let my child do the things that my child wishes to do, first with help and then with supervision and finally with trust, I don't insist that my 23 month old hold my hand when we walk on the sidewalk because I know that I can recall him with my voice because he trusts me to allow him to explore and he trusts me to explain when something is dangerous and to help him satisfy his curiosities safely.Most of the negative things that I hear about "attachment parents" are completely off-base and describe something that is entirely unlike Attachment Parenting. Attachment Parenting is child-centric and focuses on the needs of the child. Children need structure, rules, and boundaries. Attachment Parents simply believe that the child and the parent are allies, not adversaries, And that children are taught, not trained.96. What makes attachment parents different from indulgent parents is that they .A. show more love to their childrenB. think love is more importantC. prefer both love and toys in parentingD. dislike ice cream or sweets97. According to the author, what should parents do when their kids cry?A. Providing comfort and love.B. Trying to stop kids crying.C. Holding them till they stop.D. Rewarding kids with toys.98. What does “free-range” mean according to the passage?A. Fond of providing a home base.B. Ready to play games with my kids.C. Curious to watch what games they play.D. Willing to give kids freedom of movement.99. Which of the following is NOT attachment parenting?A. Fostering their curiosity.B. Standing by and protecting.C. Showing them how things are done.D. Helping them do the right thing.100. What does the passage mainly discuss?A. How to foster love in children.B. How to build child confidence.C. Different types of parenting.D. Parent-child relationships.答案解析：PART I DICTATIONMale and Female Roles in MarriageIn the traditional marriage, the man worked to earn money for the family. / The woman stayed at home to care for the children and her husband. / In recent years, many couples continue to have a traditional relationship of this kind. / Some people are happy with it. But others think differently. /There are two major differences in male and female roles now. / One is that both men and women have many more choices. / They may choose to marry or stay single. / They may choose to work or to stay at home. / A second difference is that, within marriage many decisions are shared. / If a couple has children, the man may take care of them /some of the time, all of the time or not at all. / The woman may want to stay at home / or she may want to go to work. / Men and women now decide these things together in a marriage.听写指导：由题目可以判定，文章围绕男性和女性在婚姻中的角色展开，第一段介绍了传统婚姻中两性的角色，而第二段对当今社会中两性在婚姻中的角色进行了具体的论述。

2015年大学四级英语阅读理解练习题Passage oneEarly one morning, more than a hundred years ago, an American inventor called Elias Howe finally fell asleep. He had been working all night on the design of a sewing machine but he had run into a very difficult problem: It seemed impossible to get the thread to run smoothly around the needle.Though he was tired, Howe slept badly. He turned and turned. Then he had a dream. He dreamt that he had been caught by terrible savages whose king wanted to kill him and eat him unless he could build a perfect sewing machine. When he tried to do so, Howe ran into the same problem as before. The thread kept getting caught around the needle.The king flew into the cage and ordered his soldiers to kill Howe. They came up towards him with their spears raised. But suddenly the inventor noticed something. There was a hole in the tip of each spear. The inventor awoke from the dream, realizing that he had just found the answer to the problem. Instead of trying to get the thread to run around the needle, he should make it run through a small hole in the center of theneedle. This was the simple idea that finally made Howe design and build the first really practised sewing machine.Elias Howe was not the only one in finding the answer to his problem in this way.Thomas Edison, the inventor of the electric light, said his best ideas came into him in dreams. So did the great physicist Albert Einstein. Charlotte Bronte also drew in her dreams in writing Jane Eyre.To know the value of dreams, you have to understand what happens when you are asleep. Even then, a part of your mind is still working. This unconscious(无意识的), but still active part understands your experiences and goes to work on the problems you have had during the day. It stores all sorts of information that you may have forgotten or never have really noticed. It is only when you fall asleep that this part of the brain can send messages to the part you use when you are awake. However, the unconscious part acts in a special way. It uses strange images which the conscious part may not understand at first. This is why dreams are sometimes called “secret messages to ourselves”.1.According to the passage, Elias Howe was________.A. the first person we know of who solved problems in his sleepB. much more hard-working than other inventorsC. the first person to design a sewing machine that really worked2.The problem Howe was trying to solve was________.A. how to prevent the thread from getting caught around the needleB. how to design a needle which would not breakC. where to put the needle3.Thomas Edison is spoken of because________.A. he also tried to invent a sewing machineB. he got some of his ideas from dreamsC. he was one of Howe’s best friends4.Dreams are sometimes called“secret messages to ourselves” because___.A. strange images are used to communicate ideasB. images which have no meaning are usedC. we can never understand the real meaningPassage twoThe greatest recent changes have been in the lives of women. During the twentieth century there was an unusualshortening of the time of a woman’s life spent in caring for children. A woman marrying at the end of the 19th century would probably have been in her middle twenties, and would be likely to have seven or eight children, of whom four or five lived till they were five years old. By the time the youngest was fifteen, the mother would have been in her early fifties and would expect to live a further twenty years, during which custom, chance and health made it unusual for her to get paid work. Today women marry younger and have fewer children. Usually a woman’s youngest child will be fifteen when she is forty-five and is likely to take paid work until retirement at sixty. Even while she has the care of children ,her work is lightened by household appliances（家用电器）and convenience foods.This important change in women’s way of life has only recently begun to have its full effect on women’ s economic position. Even a few years ago most girls left school at the first opportunity and most of them took a full-time job. However, when they married, they usually left work at once and never returned to it. Today the school-leaving age is sixteen, many girls stay at school after that age ,and though women tend to marry younger ,more married women stay at work at least until shortly before their first child is born. Many more after wads,return to full or part-time work. Such changes have led to a new relationship in marriage, with both husband and wife accepting a greater share of the duties and satisfaction of family life, and with both husband and wife sharing more equally in providing the money and running the home, according to the abilities and interest of each of them.5.We are told that in an average family about 1990________.A. many children died before they were fiveB. the youngest child would be fifteenC. seven of eight children lived to be more than fiveD. four or five children died when they were five6. When she was over fifty, the late 19th centurymother________.A. would expect to work until she diedB. was usually expected to take up paid employmentC. would be healthy enough to take up paid employmentD. was unlikely to find a job even if she is now likely7. Many girls, the passage says, are now likely to ________.A. marry so that they can get a jobB. leave school as soon as they canC. give up their jobs for good after they are marriedD. continue working until they are going to have a baby8. According to the passage, it is now quite usual for women to ________.A. stay at home after leaving schoolB. marry men younger than themselvesC. start working again later in lifeD. marry while still at schoolPassage threeSwimming is one of those activities that can be learned early in life. Little children can learn to swim as soon as they walk. In fact, you need the same skills in walking as in swimming. However, I believe that five is the best age to learn. By five or six, a child knows fear of water, a very important thing to know. It's wise to be afraid, to recognize true danger. Young ones understand that the water can sometimes be very dangerous.To really benefit from swimming, every swimmer should learn, as soon as possible, these four basic strokes; butterfly, backstroke, breastroke, and crawl. I feel that one of these-thebreaststroke-is different from the others, since some young swimmers use this stroke naturally, without any training.In swimming there are certain rules every swimmer should follow:1. Never swim alone! No matter how good you are in the water, don't risk drowning by swimming alone. If you swim by yourself , with no life guards or friends with you, you may get into trouble.2. Don't go beyond your abilities. Most swimmers know enough not to swim too far from the bank or the beach, Showing off by doing dangerous tricks is no good.Swim safely and you will continue to swim and alive.3. Don't smoke. Swimming depends on a healthy body; good lungs are part of it.4. Work at any activity that builds muscles.9. Little children can learn to swim as soon as _____.A. they can talkB. they start walkingC. they have no fear of the waterD. they are five or six years old10. The author believes that fear of water is_____.A. stupidB. sensibleC. dangerousD. not smart11. The stroke that some young swimmers use first is_____.A. Picture (1)B. Picture (2)C. Picture (3)D. Picture (4)12. According to the passage, you should not swim alone because_____.A. the water is too coldB. your parents would not be happyC. something in the water might attackD. you might drownPassage fourAmericans spend their free time in various ways.America is a country of sports—of hunting, fishing and swimming, and of team sports like baseball and football. Millions of Americans watch their favorite sports on television. They also like to play in community orchestras(管弦乐队),make their own films or recordings, go camping ,visit museums, attend lectures, travel, garden, read, and join in hundreds of other activities. The people also enjoy building things for their homes, sewing their own clothes, even making their own photographs. They do these things for fun as well as for economy.But as much as Americans enjoy their free time, the country is at the same time a"self-improvement" country. More than 25 million adults continue their education, chiefly by going to school in the evening, during their own free time, at their own expense. Added to the time spent on personal activities, Americans a1so devote a great amount of their time to the varied needs of their communities. Many hospitals, schools, libraries, museums, parks, community centers, and organizations that assist the poor depend on the many hours citizens devote to these activities, often without any pay. Why do they do it?There are several answers. The idea of cooperating and sharing responsibility with one another for the benefit of all is as old as the country itself.When the country was first founded in 1776,it was necessary for the settlers to work together to live. They had crossed dangerous seas and risked all they had in their struggle for political and religious freedom. There remains among many Americans a distrust of central government. People still prefer to do things themselves within their communities, rather than give the government more control.Sometimes people offer their time because they wish to accomplish something for which no money is paid, to dosomething that will be of benefit to the entire community. It is true that some people use their leisure because they are truly interested in the work; or they are learning from the experience.No matter what the reason is, hundreds of thousands of so called leisure hours are put into hard, unpaid work on one or another community need.13. This passage is mainly about ________ .A. why America is a country of sportsB. how Americans spend their free timeC. why America is a "self-improvement" country14. The writer mentions the foundation of the country in order to indicate ________.A. the early history of AmericaB. the American people's determination to liveC. the reason for Americans' willingness to cooperate and share responsibility15.Which of the following best explains the meaning of the underlined word “leisure"【】A. work timeB. energyC. spare time16.What can we infer from the text【】A. The first settlers left their hometown for political and religious reasons.B. Many Americans don′t trust the central government.C. American people enjoy building things for their homes just for fun.Passage fivePersonal computers and the Internet give people new choices about how to spend their time.Some may use this freedom to share less time with certain friends or family members, but new technology will also let them stay in closer touch with those they care most about. I know this from personal experience.E-mail makes it easy to work at home, which is where I now spend most weekends and evenings. My working hours aren’t necessarily m uch shorter than they once were but I spend fewer of them at the office. This lets me share more time with my young daughter than I might have if she’d been born before electronic mail became such a practical tool.The Internet also makes it easy to share thoughts with a group of friends. Say you do something fun see a great movieperhaps-and there are four or five friends who might want to hear about it. If you call each one, you may tire of telling the story.With E-mail, you just write one note about your experience, at your convenience, and address it to all the friends you think might be interested. They can read your message when they have time, and read only as much as they want to. They can reply at their convenience, and you can read what they have to say at your convenience.E-mail is also an inexpensive way stay in close touch with people who live far away. More than a few parents use E-mail to keep in touch, even daily touch, with their children off at college.We just have to keep in mind that computers and the Internet offer another way of staying in touch. They don’t take the place of any of the old ways.17. The purpose of this passage is to ________.A. explain how to use the InternetB. describe the writer’s joy of keeping up with the latest technologyC. tell the merits(价值) and usefulness of the InternetD. introduce the reader to basic knowledge about personal computers and the Internet18. The use of E-mail has made it possible for the writer to________.A. spend less time workingB. have more free time with his childC. work at home on weekendsD. work at a speed comfortable to him19. According to the writer, E-mail has an obvious advantage over the telephone because the former helps one ________.A. reach a group of people at one time convenientlyB. keep one’s communication as personal as possibleC. pass on much more information than the laterD. get in touch with one’s friends faster than the later20. The best title for this passage is ________.A. Computer: New Technological AdvancesB. Internet: New Tool to Maintain Good FriendshipC. Computers Have Made Life EasierD. Internet: a Convenient Tool for Communication答案：CABA DDDC BBAD BCCA CBAD。

大学英语四级阅读理解题及答案2015年大学英语四级阅读理解题及答案Questions 62 to 66 are based on the following passage.The motor vehicle has killed and disabled more people in its brief history than any bomb or weapon ever invented. Much of the blood on the street flows essentially from uncivil behavior of drivers who refuse to respect the legal and moral rights of others. So the massacre on the road may be regarded as a social problem.In fact, the enemies of society on wheels are rather harmless people or ordinary people acting carelessly, you might say. But it is a principle both of law and common morality that carelessness is no excuse when one's actions could bring death or damage to others. A minority of the killers go even beyond carelessness to total negligence.Researchers have estimated that as many as 80 per cent of all automobile accidents can be attributed to the psychological condition of the driver. Emotional upsets can distort drivers' reactions, slow their judgment, and blind them to dangers that might otherwise be evident. The experts warn that it is vital for every driver to make a conscious effort to keep one's emotions under control.Yet the irresponsibility that accounts for much of the problem is not confined to drivers. Street walkers regularly violate traffic regulations; they are at fault in most vehicle walker accidents. And many cyclists even believe that they are not subject to the basic rules of the road.Significant legal advances have been made towards safer driving in the past few years. Safety standards for vehicle have been raised both at the point of manufacture and throughperiodic road-worthiness inspections. In addition, speed limits have been lowered. Due to these measures, the accident rate has decreased. But the accident experts still worry because there has been little or no improvement in the way drivers behave. The only real and lasting solution, say the experts, is to convince people that driving is a skilled task requiring constant care and concentration. Those who fail to do all these things pose a threat to those with whom they share the road.62. The word “massacre” in line 3 paragraph one means _____A) mass-killing.B) disaster.C) tragedy.D) accident.63. What is the author's main purpose in writing the passage?A) T o show that the motor vehicle is a very dangerous invention.B) To promote understanding between careless drivers and street walkers.C) To discuss traffic problems and propose possible solutions.D) To warn drivers of the importance of safe driving.64. According to the passage, traffic accidents may be regarded as a social problem because _____.A) autos have become most destructive to mankindB) people usually pay little attention to law and moralityC) civilization brings much harm to peopleD) the lack of virtue is becoming more severe65. Why does the author mention the psychological condition of the driver in Paragraph Three?A) To give an example of the various reasons for roadaccidents.B) To show how important it is for drivers to be emotionally healthy.C) To show some of the inaccurate estimations by researchers.D) To illustrate the hidden tensions in the course of driving.66. Who are NOT mentioned as being responsible for the road accidents?A) Careless bicycle-riders.B) Mindless people walking in the street.C) Irresponsible drivers.D) Irresponsible manufactures of automobiles.参考答案：ACBBD【2015年大学英语四级阅读理解题及答案】。

2015年6月英语四级阅读理解练习及解析1 There are people in Italy who can’t stand soccer. Not all Canadians love hockey.A similar situation exists in America, where there are those individuals you may be one of them who yawn or even frown when somebody mentions baseball. 『Baseball to them means boring hours watching grown men in funny tight outfits standing around in a field staring away while very little of anything happens.』① They tell you it’s a game better suited to the 19th century, slow, quiet, gentlemanly. These are the same people you may be one of them who love football because there’s the sport that glorifies “the hit”.By contrast, baseball seems abstract, cool, silent, still.On TV the game is fractured into a dozen perspectives, replays, close ups. The geometry of the game, however, is essential to understanding it. You will contemplate the game from one point as a painter does his subject; you may, of course, project yourself into the game. It is in this projection that the game affords so much space and time for involvement. The TV won’t do it for you.Take, for example, the third baseman. You sit behind the third base dugout and you watch him watching home plate. His legs are apart, knees flexed. His arms hang loose. He does a lot of this. The skeptic still cannot think of any other sports so still, so passive. 『But watch what happens every time the pitcher throws: the third baseman goes up on his toes, flexes his arms or bring the glove to a point in front of him, takes a step right or left, backward or forward, perhaps he glances across the field to check his first baseman’s position.』② Suppose the pitch is a ball. “Nothing happened,” you say. “I could have had my eyes closed.”The skeptic and the innocent must play the game. And this involvement in the stands is no more intellectual than listening to music is. Watch the third baseman. Smooth the dirt in front of you with one foot; smooth the pocket in your glove; watch the eyes of the batter, the speed of the bat, the sound of horsehide on wood. If football is a symphony of movement and theatre, baseball is chamber music, a spacious interlocking of notes, chores and responses.1. The passage is mainly concerned with ______.A. the different tastes of people for sportsB. the different characteristics of sportsC. the attraction of footballD. the attraction of baseball2. Those who don’t like baseball may complain that ______.A. it is only to the taste of the oldB. it involves fewer players than footballC. it is not exciting enoughD. it is pretentious and looks funny3. The author admits that ______.A. baseball is too peaceful for the youngB. baseball may seem boring when watched on TVC. football is more attracting than baseballD. baseball is more interesting than football4. By stating “I could have had my eyes closed. ” the author means (4th paragraph last sentence):A. The third baseman would rather sleep than play the game.B. Even if the third baseman closed his eyes a moment ago, it could make no different to the result.C. The third baseman is so good at baseball that he could finish the game with eyes closed all the time and do his work well.D. The consequent was too bad he could not bear to see it.5. We can safely conclude that the author ______.A. likes footballB. hates footballC. hates baseballD. likes baseball词汇与短语1. dugout n. 棒球场边供球员休息的地方2. pitcher n. 投手3. symphony n. 交响乐4. chamber n. 室内5. contemplate vt.沉思，注视长难句解析①【解析】此句的主干是“Baseball?means?watching?”，其中“in funny tight outfits”用来修饰“grown men”,“standing?”和“staring”用来做“grown men”的定语。

2015年12⽉四级真题(卷四完整版)考试采取“多题多卷”模式，试题顺序不统⼀，请依据试题进⾏核对。

　 Part I Writing ( 30 minutes) For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay commenting on the saying “Learning is a daily experience and lifetime mission.”You can cite examples to illustrate the importance of lifelong learning. You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words. Part II Listening Comprehension ( 30 minutes) Section A Directions: In this section, you will hear 8 short conversations and 2 long conversations. At the end of each conversation, one or more questions will be asked about what was said. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After each question there will be a pause. During the pause, you must read the four choices marked A), B), C) and D), and decide which is the best answer. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre. 1.A) They admire the courage of space explorers. B) They enjoyed the movie on space exploration. C) They were going to watch a wonderful movie. D) They like doing scientific exploration very much. 2. A) At a gift shop. B) At a graduation ceremony. C) In the office of a travel agency. D) In a school library. 3. A) He used to work in the art gallery. B) He does not have a good memory. C) He declined a job offer form the art gallery. D) He is not interested in any part-time jobs. 4.A) Susan has been invited to give a lecture tomorrow. B) He will go to the birthday party after the lecture. C) The woman should have informed him earlier. D) He will be unable to attend the birthday party. 5.A) Reward those having made good progress. B) Set a deadline for the staff to meet. C) Assign more workers to the project. D) Encourage the staff to work in small groups. 6. A) The way to the visitor’s parking. B) The rate for parking in Lot C. C) How far away the parking lot is. D) Where she can leave her car. 7. A) He regrets missing the classes. B) He plans to take the fitness classes. C) He is looking forward to a better life. D) He has benefited form exercise. 8.A) How to ? work efficiency. B) How to select secretaries. C)The responsibilities of secretaries. D) The secretaries in the man’s company. Conversation One Questions 9 to 11 are based on the conversation you have just heard. 9.A) It is more difficult to learn than English. B) It is used by more people than English. C) It will be as commonly used as English. D) It will eventually become a world language. 10.A) It has words words from many languages, B) Its popularity with the common people. C) The influence of the British Empire. D) The effect of the Industrial Revolution. 11.A) It includes a lot of words form other languages. B) It has a growing number of newly coined words, C) It can be easily picked up by overseas travelers. D) It is the largest among all languages in the world. Conversation 2 Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard. 12.A) To return some goods. B) To apply for a job. C) To place an order. D) To make a complaint. 13. A) He has become somewhat impatient with the woman. B) He is not familiar with the exact details of goods. C) He has not worked in the sales department for long. D) He works on a part-time basis for the company. 14. A) It is not his responsibility. B) It will be free for large orders. C) It costs 15 more for express delivery. D) It depends on a number of factors. 15.A) Report the information to her superior. B) Pay a visit to the saleswoman in charge. C) Ring back when she comes to a decision. D) Make inquiries with some other companies. Section B Directions: In this section, you will hear 3 short passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear some questions. Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D ). Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet I with a single line through the centre. Passage One Questions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard. 16. A) No one knows exactly where they were ?? B) No one knows for sure when thy came into being. C) No one knows for what purpose they were ? D) No one knows what they will 17. A) Carry ropes across rivers. B) Measure the speed of wind. C) Pass on secret messages. D) Give warnings of danger. 18. A) To protect houses against lightning. B) To test the effects of the lightning rod. C) To find out the strength of silk for kites. D) To prove the lightning is electricity. Passage Two Questions 19 to 22 are based on the passage you have just heard. 19. A) She enjoys teaching languages. B) She can speak several languages. C) She was trained to be an interpreter. D) She was born with a talent for languages. 20. A) They acquire an immunity to culture shock. B) They would like to live abroad permanently. C) They want to learn as many foreign languages as possible. D) They have an intense interest in cross-cultural interactions. 21.A) She became an expert in horse racing. B) She got a chance to visit several European countries. C) She was able to translate for a German sports judge. D) She learned to appreciate classical music. 22. A) Taste the beef and give her comment. B) Take part in a cooking competition. C) Teach vocabulary for food in ?? D) Give cooking lessons on Passage Three Questions 23 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard. 23. A) He had only a third-grade education. B) He once threatened to kill his teacher. C) He grew up in a poor D) He often helped his 24.A) Careless. B) Stupid. C) Brave. D) Active. 25.A) Write two book reports a week. B) Keep a diary. C) Help with housework. D) Watch education?? Section C Directions: In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When the passage is read for the first time, you should listen carefully for its general idea. When the passage is read for the second time, you are required to fill in the blanks with the exact words you have just heard. Finally, when the passage is read for the third time, you should check what you have written. When you look up at the night sky, what do you see? There are other bodies out there besides the moon and stars. One of the most of this is a comet. Comets were formed around the same the earth was formed. They are made up of ice and other frozen liquids and gasses. these dirty snow balls begin to orbit the sun just as the planets do. As a comet gets closer to the sun, some gasses in it begin to unfreeze. They combine with dust particles from the comet to form a huge cloud. As the comet gets even nearer to the sun and solar wind blows the cloud behind the comet thus forming its tail. The tail and generally fuzzy atmosphere around the comet are that can help this phenomenon in the night sky. In any given year， about dozen known comets come close to the sun in their orbits. The average person can’t see them all of course. Usually there is only one or two a year bright enough to be seen with the _________eye. Comet Hale-Bopp discovered in 1995 was an unusually bright comet. Its orbit bought it _________to the earth within 122 million miles of it. But Hale-Bopp came a long way on its earthly visit. It won’t be back for another 4 thousand years or so. Part Ш Reading Comprehension (40 minutes) Section A Directions: 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. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single lin e t h r o u g h t h e c e n t r e . Y o u m a y n o t u s e a n y o f t h e w o r d s i n t h e b a n k m o r e t h a n o n c e . / p > p b d s f i d = " 1 9 5 " > 0 0 Q u e s t i o n s 3 6 t o 4 5 a r e b a s e d o n t h e f o l l o w i n g p a s s a g e . / p > p b d s f i d = " 19 6 " > 0 0 F o r m a n y A m e r i c a n s , 2 0 1 3 e n d e d w i t h a n u n u s u a l l y b i t t e r c o l d s p e l l . N o v e m b e r a nd De c e m b e r 3 6 e a r l y s n o w a n d b o n e - c h i l l i n g t e m p e r a t u r e s i n m u c h of t h e c o u n t r y , p a r t o f a y e a r w h e n , f o r t h e f i r s t t i m e i n t w o 3 7 , r e c o r d - c o l d d a y s w i l l l i k e l y t u r n o u t t o h a v e o u t n u m b e r e d r e c o r d - w a r m o n e s . B u t t h e U . S . w a s t h e e x c e p t i o n ; N o v e m b e r w a s t h e w a r m e s t e v e r 3 8 ,a n d c u r r e n t d a t a i n d i c a t e s t h a t 2 0 1 3 i s l i k e l y t o h a v eb e e n t h e f o u r t h h o t t e s t y e a r o n r ec o rd . / p > p b d s f i d = " 1 9 7 " > 0 0 E n j o y t he s n o w n o w , b e c a u s e 3 9 a r e g o o d t h a t 2 0 1 4 w i l l b e e v e n h o t t e r , p e r h a p s t h e h o t t e s t y e a r s i n c e r e c o r d s h a v e b e e n k e p t . T h a t s b e c a u s e , s c i e n t i s t s a r e p r e d i c t i n g , 2 0 1 4 w i l l b e a n E I N i u o y e a r . / p >。

2015年6月大学英语四级真题答案与详解(第3套)Part IWriting这是一篇四级考试中常见的图画作文。

图片中展现的是一个女孩告诉妈妈她考入了妈妈心中理想的学校，其寓意是揭露现如今的家长为孩子做重大决定的普遍现象。

做自己命运的主人正如图片中生动描绘的那样，一个女孩正在告诉她的妈妈：“好消息，我被你选择的大学录取了。

”但讽刺的是，“你选择的”这几个字揭露了一个事实，那就是这个刚刚被实现的梦想并不属于这个女孩。

现如今的一个普遍现象是父母为孩子做很多决定，甚至在他们人生的重大转折点，包括选择大学和专业、找工作或是结婚：很多原因可以解释这一现象。

首先，父母总是认为他们可以比孩子做出更明智的决定。

而且，对于家里的独生子女，父母给予了太多的关注。

此外，父母让孩子做他们想让孩子做的事情，好像这是实现他们自己未实现的梦想的唯一途径。

对青少年来说，人生道路很漫长。

他们最终要自己做决定。

而成为自己命运的主人是成长过程中的一大步。

主题词汇play a negativerole 扮演一个不好的角色focus ol1关注control 控制unreasonable 不合理的realize one’S dream 实现某人的梦想psychologically 心理上句式拓展1．More and more modem parents play a negative role in their children’s growth．越来越多的现代家长在孩子的成长过程中扮演一个不好的角色。

2．Childrenshouldgrowina psychologically happy environment and realize their own dreams．孩子们应该在一个心理上快乐的环境中成长并且实现他们自己的梦想。

Part IIListening Comprehension [说明：本套试题的听力部分由往年真题听力优化而来。

【最新整理，下载后即可编辑】2015大学英语四级阅读理解文章精练－4【大学英语四级阅读理解文章精练－4】Now let us look at how we read. When we read a printed text, our eyes move across a page in short, jerky movement. We recognize words usually when our eyes are still when they fixate. Each time they fixate, we see a group of words. This is known as the recognition span or the visual span. The length of time ofr which the eyes stop ---the duration of the fixation ----varies considerably from person to person. It also vaies within any one person according to his purpose in reading and his familiarity w ith the text. Furthermore, it can be affected by such factors as li ghting and tiredness.Unfortunately, in the past, many reading improvement course s have concentrated too much on how our eyes move across the printed page. As a result of this misleading emphasis on the pu rely visual aspects of reading, numerous exercises have been devised to train the eyes to see more words at one fixation. For ins tance, in some exercises, words are flashed on to a screen for, s ay, a tenth or a twentieth of a second. One of the exercises has required students to fix their eyes on some central point, taking in the words on either side. Such word patterns are often const ructed in the shape of rather steep pyramids so the reader takes in more and more words at each successive fixation. All these exercises are very clever, but it’s one thing to improve a perso n’s ability to see words and quite another thing to improve his ability to read a text efficiently. Reading requires the ability to u nderstand the relationship between words. Consequently, for these reasons, many experts have now begun to question the usefulne ss of eye training, especially since any approach which trains a person to read isolated words and phrases would se em unlikely to help him in reading a continuous text.Q:1. The time of the recognition span can be affected by thefollowing facts except ________ .A. one’s familiarity with the textB. one’s purpose in readingC. the length of a group of wordsD. lighting and tiredness2. The author may believe that reading ______.A. requires a reader to take in more words at each fixationB. requires a reader to see words more quicklyC. demands an deeply-participating mindD. demands more mind than eyes3 What does the author mean by saying “but it’s one thi ng to improve a person’s ability to see words and quite anothe r thing to improve his ability to read a text efficiently.” in the second parapraph?A. The ability to see words is not needed when an efficient reading is conducted.B. The readin g exercises mentioned can’t help to improve both the ability to see and to comprehend words.C. The reading exercises mentioned can’t help to improve an efficient reading.D. The reading exercises mentioned has done a great job to improve one’s ability to see words.4. Which of the following is NOT true?A. The visual span is a word or a group of words we see each time.B. Many experts began to question the efficiency of eye trai ning.C. The emphasis on the purely visual aspects is misleading.D.The eye training will help readers in reading a continuous text.5. The tune of the author in writing this article is _______ _A criticalB neutralC prssimisticD optimistic【答案及详解】答案：CCCDA解题思路1 C。

12月英语四级仔细阅读真题及答案2015年12月英语四级仔细阅读真题及答案第一篇Could youreproduce Silicon Valley elsewhere, or is there something unique about it?It wouldn’t besurprising if it were hard to reproduce in other countries, because youcouldn’t reproduce it in most of the US either. What does it take to make aSilicon Valley?It’s the rightpeople. If you could get the right ten thousand people to move from SiliconValley to Buffalo, Buffalo would become Silicon Valley.You only needtwo kinds of people to create a technology hub (中心):rich people and nerds (痴迷科研的人).Observationbears this out. Within the US, towns have become startup hubs if and only ifthey have both rich people and nerds. Few startups happen in Miami, forexample, because although it’s full of rich people, it has few nerds. It’s notthe kind of place nerds like.WhereasPittsburg has the opposite problem: plenty of nerds, but no rich people. Thetop US Computer Science departments are said to be MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, andCarnegie-Mellon. MIT yielded Route 128. Stanford and Berkeley yielded SiliconValley. But what did Carnegie-Mellon yield in Pittsburgh? And whathappened in Ithaca, home of Cornell University, which is also high on the list.I grew up inPittsburgh and went to college at Cornell, so I can answer for both. Theweather is terrible, particularly in winter, and there’s no interesting oldcity to make up for it, as there is in Boston. Rich people don’t want to livein Pittsburgh or Ithaca.So while there are plenty of hackers (电脑迷)who could start startups, there’s no one to invest in them.Do you reallyneed the rich people? Wouldn’t it work to have the government invest the nerds?No, it would not. Startup investors are a distinct type of rich people. Theytend to have a lot of experience themselves in the technology business. Thishelps them pick the right startups, and means they can supply advice andconnections as well as money. And the fact that they have a personal stake inthe outcome makes them really pay attention.56. What do welearn about Silicon Valley from the passage?A) Its success is hard to copy any where else.B) It is the biggest technology hub in the US.C) Its fame in high technology is incomparable.D) It leads the world in information technology.57. What makesMiami unfit to produce a Silicon Valley?A) Lack of incentive for investments.B) Lack of the right kind of talents.C) Lack of government support.D) Lack of famous universities.58. In that wayis Carnegie-Mellon different from Stanford, Berkeley and MIT?A) Its location is not as attractive to rich peopleB) Its science department are not nearly as goodC) It does not produce computer hackers and nerdsD) It does not pay much attention to business startups59. What doesthe author imply about Boston?A) It has pleasant weather all year round.B) It produces wealth as well as high-techC) It is not likely to attract lots of investor and nerds.D) It is an old city with many sites of historical interest.60. What doesthe author say about startup investors?A) They are especially wise in making investments.B) They have good connections in the government.C) They can do more than providing money.D) They are enough to invest in nerds.参考答案：56. A此题难度不大，根据题干中的“Silicon Valley”可定位第一段，第一段尾句“is there something unique about it?”直接把答案引向第二段。

2015四级阅读段落信息匹配题及答案解析(4)The Art of FriendshipA) One evening a few years ago I found myself in an anxiety. Nothing was really wrong my family and I were healthy, my career was busy and successful -- I was just feeling vaguely down and in need of a friend who could raise my spirits, someone who would meet me for coffee and let merant until the clouds lifted. I dialed my best friend, who now lives across the country in California, and got her voicemail. That's when it started to dawn on me -- lonesomeness was at the root of my dreariness. My social life had dwindled to almost nothing, but somehow until that moment I'd been too busy to notice. Now it hit me hard. My old friends, buddies since college or even childhood, know everything about me; when they left, they had taken my context with them.B) Research has shown the long-range negative consequences of social isolation on one's health. But my concerns were more short-term. I needed to feel understood right then in the way that only a girlfriend can understand you. I knew it would be wrong to expect my husband to replace my friends: He couldn't, and even if he could, to whom would I then complain about my husband? So I resolved to acquire new friends -- women like me who had kids and enjoyed rolling their eyes at the worlda little bit just as I did. Since I'd be making friends with more intention than I'd ever given the process, I realized I could be selective, that I could in effect design my own social life. The down side, of course, was that I felt pretty frightened.C) After all, it's a whole lot harder to make friends in midlife that it is when yon're younger -- a fact woman I've spoken with point out again and again. As Leslie Danzig, 41, a Chicago theater director and mother, sees it, when you're in your teens and 20s, you're more or less friends with everyone unless there's a reason not to be. Your college roommate becomes your best pal at least partly due to proximity. Now there needs to be a reason to be friends. "There are many people I'm comfort-able around, but I wouldn't go so far as to call them friends. Comfort isn't enough to sustain a real friendship," Danzig says.D) At first, finding new companions felt awkward. At 40 I couldn't run up to people the way my4-year-old daughters do in the playground and ask, "Will you be my friend? Every time you start anew relationship, you're vulnerable again," agrees Kathleen Hall, D Min, founder and CEO of the Stress Institute, in Atlanta. "You're asking, 'Would you like to come into my life?' It makes us self-conscious."E) Fortunately, my discomfort soon passed. I realized that as a mature friend seeker my vulnerability risk was actually pretty low. If someone didn't take me up on my offer, sowhat: I wasn't in junior high, when I might have been rejected for having the wrong clothes or hair. At my age I have amassed enough self-esteem to realize that I have plenty to offer.F) We're all so busy, in fact, that mutual interests -- say, in a project, class, or cause that we already make time for -- become the perfect catalysts for bringing us in contact with candidates for camaraderie. Michelle Mertes, 35, a teacher and mother of two in Wausau, Wisconsin, says anew friend she made at church came as a pleasant surprise. "In high school I chose friends based on their popular-ity and how being part of their circle might reflect on me. Now's it's our shared values and activities that count." Mertes says her pal, with whom she organized the church's youth programs, is nothing like her but their drive and organizational skills make them ideal friends.G) Happily, as awkward as making new friends can be, self-esteem issues do not factor in -- or if they do, you can easily put them into perspective. Danzig tells of the mother of a child in her son's pre-school, a tall, beautiful woman who is married to a big-deal rock musician. "I said to my husband, she's too cool for me,'" she jokes. "I get intimidated by people. But once I got to know her, she turned out to be pretty laid-back and friendly." In the end there was no chemistry between them, so they didn't become good pals. "I realized that we weren't each other's type, but it wasn't about hierarchy." What midlife friendship is about, it seems, is reflecting the person you've become (or are still becoming) back at yourself, thus reinforcing the progress you've made in your life.H) Harlene Katzman, 41, a lawyer in New York City, notes that her oldest friends knew her back when she was less sure of herself. As much as she loves them, she believes they sometimes respond to is-sues in light of who she once was. An old chum has the goods on you. With recently made friends, you can turn over a new leaf.I) A new friend, chosen right, can also help you point your boat in the direction you want to go. Hanna Dershowitz, 39, an attorney and mother in Los Angeles, found that a new acquaintance from workwas exactly what she needed in a friend. In addition to liking and respecting Julia, Dershowitz had a feeling that the fit and athletic younger woman would help her to get in shape.J) While you're busy making new friends, remember that you still need to nurture your old ones. We asked Marla Paul, author of The Friendship Crisis: Finding, Making, and Keeping Friends When You "re Not a Kid Anymore, for the best ways to maintain these important relationships. Keep in touch. Your friends should be a priority; schedule regular lunch dates or coffee catch-up sessions, no matter how busy you are. Know her business. Keep track of important events in a friend's life and show your support. Call or e-mail to let her know you're thinking of her. Speak your mind. Tell a friend (politely) if something she did really upset you. If you can't be totally honest, then you need to reexamine the relationship. Accept her flaws. No one is perfect, so work around her quirks --she'schronically late, or she's a bit negative -- to cut down on frustration and fights. Boost her ego. Heartfelt compliments make everyone feel great, so tell her how much you love her new sweater or what a great job she did on a work project.46. Leslie Danzig thought making friends at one's middle age needed some reasons.47. A well-chosen new friend can help you go in the direction that you like.48. A few years ago the author felt lonely and depressed when she phoned her best friend in another city who was much wanted then but unavailable.49. According to Kathleen Hall, one might feel sensitive in the first curse of making new friends.50. Midlife friendship can help you realize your direction of life and reinforce the progress you've made in your life.51. In Mafia Paul's book, to be a better friend, you should keep track with your fiiends, care for your friend's job, express yourself, accept her flaws and compliment your friend for her/his good dressing and job.52. For the author, a girl friend might be the right person to under "stand her and erase her negative feeling.53. According to Michelle Metes, midlife friendship is based on the shared values and activities54. As a mature friend seeker, the author finds herself with enough confidence to offer and take rejection with grace.55. With newly made friends, you can have a chance to take on a new look in your life.Section B交友之道A)数年前的一天晚上，我发现自己陷入了焦虑中。