2021年12月英语四级考试阅读理解参考

【 导语】世上的事，只要肯⽤⼼去学，没有⼀件是太晚的。你只要记住你的今天⽐昨天进步了⼀点，那么你离你的梦想也就更近了⼀步。下⾯是⽆忧考整理的内容，希望对你们有帮助！

【篇⼀】2021年12⽉英语四级考试阅读理解参考 Some houses are designed to be smart. Others have smart designs. An example of the second type of house won anAward of Excellence from the American Institute of Architects.

Located on the shore of Sullivan’s Island off the coast of South Carolina, the award-winning cube-shaped beach housewas built to replace one smashed to pieces by Hurricane (飓风) Hugo 10 years ago. In September1989, Hugo struck SouthCarolina, killing 18 people and damaging or destroying 36,000 homes in the state.

Before Hugo, many new houses built along South Carolina’s shoreline were poorly constructed, and enforcement ofbuilding codes wasn’t strict, according to architect Ray Huff, who created the cleverly-designed beach house. In Hugo’swake, all new shoreline houses are required to meet stricter, better-enforced codes.The new beach house on Sullivan’sIsland should be able to withstand a Category 3 hurricane with peak winds of 179 to 209 kilometers per hour.

At first sight, the house on Sullivan’s Island looks anything but hurricane-proof. Its redwood shell makes it resemble “alarge party lantern (灯笼)” at night, according to one observer. But looks can be deceiving. The house’s wooden frame isreinforced with long steel rods to give it extra strength.

To further protect the house from hurricane damage, Huff raised it 2.7 meters off the ground on timber pilings—long,slender columns of wood anchored deep in the sand. Pilings might appear insecure, but they arestrong enough to supportthe weight of the house. They also elevate the house above storm surges. The pilings allow the surges to run under thehouse instead of running into it. “These swells of water come ashore at tremendous speeds and cause most of the damagedone to beach-front buildings,” said Huff.

Huff designed the timber pilings to be partially concealed by the house’s ground-to-roof shell. “ The shell masks thepilings so that the house doesn’t look like it’s standing with its pant legs pulled up,” said Huff. In the event of a storm surge,the shell should break apart and let the waves rush under the house, the architect explained.

练习题：

Choose correct answers to the question:

1. After the tragedy caused by Hurricane Hugo, new houses built along South Carolina’s shore line are required________.

A. to be easily reinforced

B. to look smarter in design

C. to meet stricter building standards

D. to be designed in the shape of cubes

2. The award-winning beach house is quite strong because ________.

A. it is strengthened by steel rods

B. it is made of redwood

C. it is in the shape of a shell

D. it is built with timber and concrete

3. Huff raised the house 2.7 meters off the ground on timber pilings in order to ________.

A. withstand peak winds of about 200 km/hr

B. anchor stronger pilings deep in the sand

C. break huge sea waves into smaller ones

D. prevent water from rushing into the house

4. The main function of the shell is ________. A. to strengthen the pilings of the house

B. to give the house a better appearance

C. to protect the wooden frame of the house

D. to slow down the speed of the swelling water

5. It can be inferred from the passage that the shell should be ________.

A. fancy-looking

B. waterproof

C. easily breakable

D. extremely strong

1.[C] 根据题⽬中的专有名词Hugo查找到⽂中第3段第2句。句中的In Hugo’s wake相当于题⽬中的after Hugo,由该句是的stricter，better-enforced codes可知C正确。

2.[A] 第4段开始具体介绍the house,根据该段最后⼀句可知，这幢房⼦的⽊制结构⽤长钢筋加固了，因⽽特别结实,故选A。

3.[D] 根据题⼲的数字可迅速定位⾄第5段⾸，第2、3句阐述这样做的⽬的是“将房屋抬髙到暴风⾬巨浪之上,及让巨浪能在屋下流过。”其中running into it与D中的rushing into the house同义,故D正确。

4.[B] 最后⼀段第2句提出，外壳可以把⽊桩遮盖住,所以它主要起“粉饰”作⽤。

5.[C] 根据最后⼀句可知，如果暴风⾬巨浪涌来，外壳就会裂开，让巨浪在房屋下⾯奔涌⽽过，因此外壳应该是“易碎的”。

【篇⼆】2021年12⽉英语四级考试阅读理解参考 One of the bitterest and most time-worm debates in student union bars up and down the country is resolved as academicresearch confirms that in financial terms at least, arts degrees are a complete waste of time.Getting through university boostsstudents’earnings by 25%, on a weighted average, or $220,000 over theirlifetime, according to Professor Ian Walker ofWarwick University-but if they study Shakespeare or the peasants’revolt instead of anatomy of contract law, those gains arelikely to be completely wiped out.

The government is about to allow universities to charge students up to $3,000 a year for their degrees, arguing that it’s asmall price to pay compared with the financial rewards graduates reap later in life. But Prof. Walker’s research shows thereare sharp variations in returns according to which subject a student takes.

Law, medicine and economics or business are the most lucrative choices, making their average earnings 25% higher,according to the article, published in the office for national statistics’monthly journal. Scientists get 10-15% extra. At thebottom of the list are arts subjects, which make only a “small ”differenceto earnings- a small negative one, in fact. Just aheadare degrees in education-which leave hard pressed teachers anaverage of 5% better off a year than if they had left school at18.