四级阅读细节题练习

大学英语四级阅读理解练习和答案：Questions 56 to 60 are based on the following passage.Large companies need a way to reach the savings of the public at large. The same problem, on a smaller scale, faces practically every company, trying to develop new products and create new jobs. There canbe little prospect of raising the sort of sums needed from friends and people we know, and while banks may agree to provide short-term finance, they are generally unwilling to provide money on a permanent basis for long-term projects. So companies turn to the public, inviting people to lend them money, or take a share in the business in exchange for a share in future profits. This they do by issuing stocks and shares in the business through the Stock Exchange. By doing so, they can put into circulation the savings of individual and institutions, both at home and overseas.When the saver needs his money back, he does not have to go to the company with whom he originally placed it. Instead, he sells his shares through a stockbroker to some other saver who is seeking toinvest his money.Many of the services needed both by industry and by each of us are provided by the Govern mentor by local authorities. Without hospitals, roads, electricity, telephones, railways, this country could not function. All these require continuous spending on new equipment and new development if they are to serve us properly, requiring more money than is raised through taxes alone. The Government, local authorities, and nationalized industries therefore frequently need to borrow money to finance major capital spending, and they too, come to the Stock Exchange.There is hardly a man or woman in this country whose job or whose standard of living does not depend on the ability of his or her employers to raise money to finance new development. In one way or another, this new money must come from the savings of the country. The Stocky Exchange exists top rovide a channel through which these savings can reach those who need finance.56. Almost all companies trying to develop new products and creating new jobs have toA) persuade the banks to provide long-term financeB) rely on their own financial resourcesC) borrow large sums of money from friends and relativesD) depend on the population as a whole for finance57. The money, which enables these companies to go ahead with their projects, isA) raised by the selling of shares in the companiesB) repaid to its original owners as soon as possibleC) raised by putting into circulation of the savings of individual overseasD) invested in different companies on the Stock Exchange58. The Stock Exchange makes it possible for the government, local authorities and nationalized industriesA) to make certain everybody saves moneyB) to borrow as much money as they wishC) to raise money to finance new developmentsD) to make certain everybody lends money to them59. All the essential services on which we depend areA) run by the Government or our local authoritiesB) in constant need of financial supportC) unable to meet the needs of the populationsD) financed wholly by rates and taxes60. When the savers want their money back theyA) transfer their money to a more successful companyB) have to borrow money from other peopleC) put their shares in the company back on the marketD) go to the company to take it back大学英语四级阅读理解练习和答案：Questions 61 to 65 are based on the following passage.Do you find getting up in the morning so difficult that it's painful? This might be called laziness, but Dr. Kleitman has a new explanation. He has proved that everyone has a daily energy cycle.During the hours when you lab our through your work you may say that you're "hot". That's true.The time of day when you feel most energetic is when your cycle of body temperature is at its peak. For some people the peak comes during the forenoon. For others it comes in the afternoon or evening. No one has discovered why this is so, but it leads to such familiar monologues as: "Get up, John! You'll be late for work again!" The possible explanation to the trouble is that John is at his temperature-and-energy peak in the evening. Much family quarrelling ends when husbands and wives realize what the seenergy cycles mean, and which cycle each member of the family has.You can't change your energy cycle, but you can learn to make your life fit it better. Habit can help, Dr. Kleitman believes. Maybe you're sleepy in the evening but feel you must stay up late any way. Counteract your cycle to some extent by habitually staying up later than you want to. If your energy is low in the morning, but you have an important job to do early in the day, rise before your usual hour. This won't change your cycle, but you'll get up steam and work better at your low point.Get off to a slow start which saves your energy. Get up with a leisurely yawn and stretch. Sit on the edge of the bed a minute before putting your feet on the floor. Avoid the troublesome search for clean clothes by laying them out the night before. Whenever possible, do routine work in the afternoon and save tasks requiting more energy or concentration for your sharper hours.61. If a person finds getting up early a problem, most probably _____ .A) he is a lazy personB) he refuses to follow his own energy cycleC) he is not sure when his energy is lowD) he is at his peak in the afternoon or evening62. Which of the following may lead to family quarrels according to the passage?A) Unawareness of energy cycles.B) Familiar monologues.C) A change in a family member's energy cycle.D) Attempts to control the energy cycle of other family members.63. If one wants to work more efficiently at his low point in the morning, he should_____ .A) change his energy cycleB) overcome his lazinessC) get up earlier than usualD) go to bed earlier64. You are advised to rise with a yawn and stretch because it willA) help to keep your energy for the day's workB) help you to control your temper early in the dayC) enable you to concentrate on your routine workD) keep your energy cycle under control all day65. Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE?A) Getting off to work with a minimum effort helps save one's energy.B) Dr. Kletman explains why people reach their peaks at different hours of day.C) Habit helps a person adapt to his own energy cycle.D) Children have energy cycles, too.56.Almost all companies trying to develop new products and creating new jobs have to_____.几乎所有想要开发新产品和创造新工作岗位的公司都不得不_____.A) persuade the banks to provide long.term financeB) rely on their own financial resourcesC) borrow large sums of money from friends and relativesD)depend on the population as a whole for financeA)说服银行提供长期贷款B)依靠他们自己的财政资源C)从亲戚朋友那里借大笔的钱D)依靠广大民众来筹款【解析】 D。

英语四级长篇阅读练习题及答案解析四级长篇阅读练习题：Promote Learning and Skills for Young People and AdultsA) This goal places the emphasis on the learning needs of young people and adults in the context of lifelong learning.It calls for fair access to learning programs that are appropriate，and mentions life skills particularly.B)Education is about giving people the opportunity to develop their potential，their personality and their strengths.This does not merely mean learning new knowledge，but also developing abilities to make the most of life.These are called life skills——including the inner capacities and the practical skills we need.C)Many of the inner capacities——often known as psych0—social skills——cannot be taught as subjects.They are not the same as academic or technical learnin9.They must rather be modeled and promoted as part of learning，and in particular by teachers.These skills have to do with the way we behave—towards other people，towards ourselves，towards the challenges and problems of life.They include skills in communicating，in making decisions and solving problems，in negotiating and expressing ourselves，in thinking critically and understanding our feelings.D)More practical life skills are the kinds of manual skills we need for the physical tasks we face.Some would include vocational skills under the heading of life skills——the ability to lay bricks.sew clothes，catch fish or repair a motorbike.These are skills by which people may earn their livelihood and which are often available to young people leaving school.In fact，very often young people learn psycho-social skills as they learn more practical skills.Learning vocational skills can be a strategy for acquiring both practical and psycho-social skills.E)We need to increase our life skills at every stage of life，so learning them may be part of early child—hood education.of primary and secondary education and of adult learning groups.Life skills can be put into the categories that the Jacques Delors report suggested;it spoke of four pillars of education，which correspond to certain kinds of life skills —Learning to know：Thinking abilities：such as problem—solving，critical thinking，decision making，understanding consequences.Learning to be：Personal abilities：such as managing stress and feelings，self-awareness，self-confidence.Learning to live together：Social abilities：such as communication，negotiation，teamwork.Learning to do： Manual skills：practicing know-how required for work and tasks.F)In todays world all these skills are necessary, in order to face rapid change in society.This means that it is important to know how to go on learning as we require new skills for life and work.In addition，we need to know how to cope with the flood of information and turn it in to useful knowledge.We also need to learn how to handle change in society and in our own lives.G)Life skills are both concrete and abstract—practical skills can be learned directly, as a subject.For example, a learner can take a course in laying bricks and learn that skill.Other life skills，such asself-confidence，self-esteem，and skills for relating to others or thinking critically cannot be taught in such direct ways.They should be part of any learning process，where teachers or instructors are concerned that learners should not just learn about subjects，but learn how to cope with life and make the most of their potential.H)So these life skills may be learnt when learning other things.For example：Learning literacy may have a big impact on self-esteem，on critical thinking or on communication skills;Learning practical skills s ach as drivin9，healthcare or tailoring may increase self-confidence，teach problem—solving processes or help in understanding consequences.I) Whether this is true depends on the way of teachin9—what kinds of thinkin9，relationship building and communication the teacher or facilitator models themselves and promotes among the learners.It would require measuring the individual and collective progress in making the most of learning and of life，or assessing how far human potential is being realized，or estimating how well people cope with change.It is easier to measure the development of practical skills，for instance by counting the number of students who register for vocational skills courses.However, this still may not tell us how effectively these skills are being used.J)The psych0.social skills cannot easily be measured by tests and scores，but become visible in Chang behavior.Progress in this area has often been noted by teachers on reports which they make to the parentsof their pupils.The teachers experience of life，of teaching and of what can be expected from education in the broadest sense serve as a standard by which the growth and development of individuals can be assessed to some extent.This kind of assessment is individual and may never appear in international tables and charts.K)The current challenges relate to these difficulties：We need to recognize the importance of life skillsboth practical and psycho-socialas part of education which leads to the full development of human potential and to the development of society.The links between psycho—social skills and practical skills must be more clearly spelled out，so that educators can promote both together and find effective ways to do this.Since life skills are taught as part of a wide range of subjects，teachers need to have training in how to put them across and how to monitor learnersgrowth in these areas.In designing curricula and syllabuses for academic subjects，there must be a balance between content teaching and attention to the accompanying life skills.A more conscious and deliberate effort to promote life skills will enable learners to become more active citizens in the life of society.L) Governments should recognize and actively advocate for the transformational role of education in realizing human potential and in socio—economic development.Ensure that curricula and syllabuses address life skills and give learners the opportunity to make real-life applications of knowledge，skills and attitudes.Show how life skills of all kinds apply in the world of work，for example，negotiating and communication skills，as well practical skills.Through initial andin-service teacher training，increase the use of active and participatory learning/teaching approaches.Examine and adapt the processes and content of education so that there is a balance between academic input and life skills development.Make sure that education inspectors look not only for academic progress through teaching and learning，but also progress in the communication， modeling and application of life skills.Advocate for the links between primary and(early)secondary education because learning life skills needs eight or nine years and recognize that the prospect of effective secondary education is an incentive to children，and their parents，to complete primary education successfully.M)Funding agencies should support research，exchange anddebate.nationally and regionally,on ways of strengthening life skills education.Support innovative(创新的)teacher training in order to combine life skills promotion into subjects across the curriculum and as a fundamental part of what school and education are about.Recognize the links between primary and secondary education in ensuring that children develop strong life skills.Support，therefore，the early years of secondary education as part basic education.N) As support to governments and in cooperation with other international agencies，UNESC0：Works to define life skills better and clarify what it means to teach and learn them.Assists education. policy makers and teachers to develop and use a life skills approach to education.Advocates for the links between a life skills approach to education and broader society and human development.46.The recognition of life skills as part of education will promote the development of human potential and society.47.The abilities to make the most of life consist of the inner capacities and the practical skills.48.The progress in psycho—social skills can be measured by changed behavior.ernments should examine and adapt the processes and content of education so as to balance the academic input and life skills development.50.According to Jacques Delors，four pillars of education include learning to know, learning to be， learning to live together and learning to do.51.The funding agencies should link primary education and secondary education to make sure that children develop strong life skills.52.Learning literacy may exert an influence on self-esteem，critical thinking and communication skills.53.One function of UNESCO is to help educational policy makers and teachers to develop and use a life skills approach to education.54.Learning vocational skills can be an approach to acquiring both practical and psycho—social skills.55.The abilities to manage stress and feelings，self-awareness，self-confidence are personal abilities.答案解析：【解析】J)。

大学英语四级仔细阅读专项强化真题试卷8(题后含答案及解析) 题型有：1.Aging happens to all of us, and is generally thought of as a natural part of life. It would seem silly to call such a thing a “disease.”On the other hand, scientists are increasingly learning that aging and biological age are two different things, and that the former is a key risk factor for conditions such as heart disease, cancer and many more. In that light, aging itself might be seen as something treatable, the way you would treat high blood pressure or a vitamin deficiency. Biophysicist Alex Zhavoronkov believes that aging should be considered a disease. He said that describing aging as a disease creates incentives to develop treatments. “It unties the hands of the pharmaceutical (制药的) industry so that they can begin treating the disease and not just the side effects,” he said. “Right now, people think of aging as natural and something you can’t control,” he said. “In academic circles, people take aging research as just an interest area where they can try to develop interventions. The medical community also takes aging for granted, and can do nothing about it except keep people within a certain health range. “But if aging were recognized as a disease, he said, “It would attract funding and change the way we do health care. What matters is understanding that aging is curable. ““It was always known that the body accumulates damage,” he added. “The only way to cure aging is to find ways to repair that damage. I think of it as preventive medicine for age-related conditions.”Leonard Hayflick, a professor at the University of California, San Francisco, said the idea that aging can be cured implies the human lifespan can be increased, which some researchers suggest is possible. Hayflick is not among them. “There’re many people who recover from cancer, stroke, or heart disease. But they continue to age, because aging is separate from their disease,” Hayflick said. “Even if those causes of death were eliminated, life expectancy would still not go much beyond 92 years.”1．What do people generally believe about aging?A．It should cause no alarm whatsoever.B．They just cannot do anything about it.C．It should be regarded as a kind of disease.D．They can delay it with advances in science.正确答案：B解析：推理判断题。

阅读细节题专项练习1.In fact, the average compensation benefit in America has climbed from 55 percent of the states; average weekly wages in 1972 to 97 percent today. But, as most studies show, every 10 percent increase in compensation benefits results in a 5 percent increase in the numbers of workers who file for claims. And with so much more money floating in the workers' compensation system, it's not surprising that doctors and lawyers have helped themselves to a large slice of the growing pie.Q: After 1972 workers' compensation insurance in the U.S became more favorable to workers so that___.[A]the poverty level for a family of four went up drastically[B]more money was allocated to their compensation system[C]there were fewer legal barriers when they filed for claims[D]the number of workers suing for damages increased答案为[D]根据题干中的"after 1972"可马上判断出线索在最后一段。

四级英语考试阅读精选题及答案解析四级英语考试阅读精选题(一)There are people in Italy who can’t stand soccer. Not all Canadians love hockey. A similar situation e某ists 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瞮ps. 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 involve ment. The TV won’t do it for you.Take, for e某ample, the third baseman. You sit behind the third base dugout and you watch him watching home plate. His legs are apart, knees fle某ed. 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, fle某es 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. “Nothinghappened,〞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 e某citing enoughD. it is pretentious and looks funnyThe 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 sogood 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四级英语考试阅读精选题答案1. D主旨题。

Passage OneQuestions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.As you are probably aware, the latest job markets news isn’t good: Unemployment is still more than 9 percent, and new job growth has fallen close to zero. That’s bad for the economy, of course. And it may be especially discouraging if you happen to be looking for a job or hoping to change careers right now. But it actually shouldn’t matter to you nearly as much as you think.That’s because job growth numbers don’t matter to job hunters as much as job turnover (人员更替) data. After all, existing jobs open up every day due to promotions, resignations, terminations(解雇), and retirements. (Yes, people are retiring even in this economy.) In both good times and bad, turnover creates more openings than economic growth does. Even in June of 2023, when the economy was still moving ahead, job growth was only 132,000, while turnover was 4.7 million!And as it turns out, even today — with job growth near zero — over 4 million job hunters are being hired every month.I don’t mean to imply that overall job growth doesn’t have an impact on one’s ability to land a job. It’s true that if total employment were higher,it would mean more jobs for all of us to choose from (and compete for). Andit’s true that there are currently more people applying for each available job opening, regardless of whether it’s a new one or not.But what often distinguishes those who land jobs from those who don’t is their ability to stay motivated. They’re willing to do the hard work of identifying their valuable skills; be creative about where and how to look;learn how to present themselves to potential employers; and keep going, even after repeated rejections. The Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that 2.7 million people who wanted and were available for work hadn’t looked within the last four weeks and were no longer even classified as unemployed.So don’t let the headlines fool you into giving up. Four million people get hired every month in the U.S. You can be one of them.57. The author tends to believe that high unemployment rate ______.A) deprives many people of job opportunitiesB) prevents many people from changing careersC) should not stop people from looking for a jobD) does not mean the U.S. economy is worsening58. Where do most job openings come from?A) Job growth. C) Improved economy.B) Job turnover. D)Business expansion.59. What does the author say about overall job growth?A) It doesn’t have much effect on individual job seekers.B) It increases people’s confidence in the economy.C) It gives a ray of hope to the unemployed.D) It doesn’t mean greater job security for the employed.60. What is the key to landing a job according to the author?A) Education. C) Persistence.B) Intelligence. D) Experience.61. What do we learn from the passage about the unemployment figures in the U.S.?A) They clearly indicate how healthy the economy is.B) They provide the public with the latest information.C) They warn of the structural problems in the economy.D) They exclude those who have stopped looking for a job.Passage TwoQuestions 62 to 66 are based on the following passage.Our risk of cancer rises dramatically as we age. So it makes sense that the elderly should be routinely screened for new tumors — or doesn’t it?While such vigilant(警惕的)tracking of cancer is a good thing in general, researchers are increasingly questioning whether all of this testing is necessary for the elderly. With the percentage of people over age 65 expected to nearly double by 2050, it’s important to weigh the health benefits of screening against the risks and costs of routine testing.In many cases, screening can lead to surgeries to remove cancer, while the cancers themselves may be slow-growing and may not pose serious health problems in patients’ remaining years. But the message that everyone must screen for cancer has become so deep-rooted that when health care experts recommended that women under 50 and over 74 stop screening for breast cancer, it caused ariotous reaction among doctors, patients and advocacy groups.It’s hard to uproot deeply held beliefs about cancer screening with scientific data. Certainly, there are people over age 75 who have had cancers detected by routine screening, and gained several extra years of life because of treatment. And clearly, people over age 75 who have other risk factors for cancer, such as a family history or prior personal experience with the disease, should continue to get screened regularly. But for the remainder, the risk of cancer, while increased at the end of life, must be balanced with other factors like remaining life expectancy(预期寿命).A recent study suggests that doctors start to make more objective decisions about who will truly benefit from screening- especially considering the explosion of the elderly that will soon swell our population.It’s not an easy calculation to make, but one that makes sense for all patients. Dr. Otis Brawley said, “Many doctors are ordering screening tests purely to cover themselves. We need to think about the rational use of health care.”That means making some difficult decisions with elderly patients, and going against the misguided belief that when it comes to health care, more is always better.注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

While the cities of China have undergone modernization evidentin t he rising towers and bright lights that have awakened thesleeping country, the countryside remains largely the same. 『Rectangular rows of rice fields litter the landscape separatedby l ong lanes of water designed to provide the constant supplyof wate r that is vital to producing the crop.』① The experienceis not unlike driving through the American Midw est, only rice not corn dominates the landscape.Four years ago, when I last took this trip, the roads were dust and telephone wires did not runparallel to the highway. Bare roads ha ve been replaced by sleek, newly paved highways runningfrom Sh anghai to Nanking, to my smaller, home city, Wuhu. Unlike the cha nges I had heard of andexpected in Shanghai, Wuhu was much m ore of a surprise. The small city where I was born hadgrown up as I have. There are large high-rise buildings, each ringed with small er buildings around it,many of these apartment complexes. Little s eemed familiar and I wonder what my grandparent’sflat built of bri ck and mortar had become.『Perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised to find out that their home had been demolished andrebuilt as a six story apartment comp lex as well. 』②Walking up to the second floor I saw mygrandfather’s face peering out of the screen door. He began to smile as he saw me, and so d id I.Their home is now no different from a western apartment. Equ ipped with the modern amenities ofa gas stove, a toilet, a shower? this was indeed different from four years ago.1. According to the author, dramatic changes took place in.A. cities but not countryside of ChinaB. both cities and cou ntryside of ChinaC. countryside but not in large citiesD. everywhere2. It can be inferred from the second paragraph that .A. peasants lead similar life all over the worldB. Chinese irrigating system is more impressing than that i n AmericaC. peasants in Midwest America raise more corns while Chine se peasants raise more riceD. peasants in Midwest America raise more rice while Chines e peasants raise more corn3. The author was traveling to Wuhu.A. in order to take a stop during the trip from Shanghai to NankingB. in order to find some place similar to his hometownC. in order to visit his grand parentsD. in order to find out changes in small cities4. The author’s grand parents.A. live in their house of brick and mortarB. live in an apartment similar to westernersC. led a totally westernized lifeD. was poor as they always were5. Which of the following is the best title for this passag e?A. Flash back to ChinaB. From Shanghai to NankingC. Wuhu TodayD. Back With MyGrand ParentsVocabulary1. mortar n. 灰泥2. amenity n. 便利设施 3. rectangular adj.长方形的4. litter n.乱七八糟的东西5. lane n.小路6. demolish vt.拆除长难句解析①【解析】句子的主干是“…landscape separated by…”，“that”引导的定语从句，修饰“water”。

大学英语四级阅读题带答案大学英语四级阅读题：【原文】Many private institutions of higher education around the country are in danger.Not all will be saved，andperhaps not all deserve to be saved. There are low-quality schools just as there are low-quality business.We have no obligation to save them simply because they exist.But many thriving institutions that deserve to continue are threatened.They are doing a fine job educationally，but they are caught in a financial squeeze，with no way to reduce rising costs or increase revenuessignificantly.Raising tuition doesnt bring in more revenue，for each time tuition goes up，the enrollment goes down，or the amount that must be given away in student aid goes up.Schools are bad businesses，whether public or private，not usually because of mismanagement but because of the nature of the enterprise.They lose money on every customer，and they can go bankrupt either from too few students or too many students.Even a very good college is a very bad business.It is such colleges，thriving but threatened，I worry about.Low enrollment is not their chief problem.Even with full enrollments，they may go under.Efforts to save them，and preferably to keep them private，are a national necessity.There is no basis for arguing that private schools are inherently (固有地)better than public schools.Examples to the contrary abound.Anyone can name state universities and colleges that rankas the finest in the nation and the world.It is now inevitable that public institutions will be dominant，and therefore diversity is a national necessity.Diversity in the way we support schools tends to give us a healthy diversity in the forms of education.In an imperfect society such as ours，uniformity of education throughout the nation could be dangerous.In an imperfect society，diversity is a positive good. Enthusiastic supporters of public higher education know the importance of sustaining private higher education.大学英语四级阅读题：【题目】Choose correct answers to the question：1.According to the authors opinion，schools are bad businesses because of _______.A.mismanagementB.too few studentsC.financial squeezeD.their characteristics2.The author used the phrase “go under” in Para. 3 to mean “_______”。

大学英语四级仔细阅读专项强化真题试卷7(题后含答案及解析) 题型有：1.The wallet is heading for extinction. As a day-to-day essential, it will die off with the generation who read print newspapers. The kind of shopping—where you hand over notes and count out change in return—now happens only in the most minor of our retail encounters, like buying a bar of chocolate or a pint of milk from a comer shop. At the shops where you spend any real money, that money is increasingly abstracted. And this is more and more true, the higher up the scale you go. At the most cutting-edge retail stores—Victoria Beckham on Dover Street, for instance—you don’t go and stand at any kind of cash register when you decide to pay. The staff are equipped with iPads to take your payment while you relax on a sofa. Which is nothing more or less than excellent service, if you have the money. But across society, the abstraction of the idea of cash makes me uneasy. Maybe I’m just old-fashioned. But earning money isn’t quick or easy for most of us. Isn’t it a bit weird that spending it should happen in half a blink(眨眼)of an eye? Doesn’t a wallet—that time-honoured Friday-night feeling of pleasing, promising fatness—represent something that matters? But I’ll leave the economics to the experts. What bothers me about the death of the wallet is the change it represents in our physical environment. Everything about the look and feel of a wallet—the way the fastenings and materials wear and tear and loosen with age, the plastic and paper and gold and silver, and handwritten phone numbers and printed cinema tickets—is the very opposite of what our world is becoming. The opposite of a wallet is a smartphone or an iPad. The rounded edges, cool glass, smooth and unknowable as a pebble(鹅卵石). Instead of digging through pieces of paper and peering into corners, we move our fingers left and right. No more counting out coins. Show your wallet, if you still have one. It may not be here much longer.1．What is happening to the wallet?A．It is disappearing.B．It is being fattened.C．It is becoming costly.D．It is changing in style.正确答案：A解析：事实细节题。