第4部分阅读理解.

1、第 4 部分：阅读理解（第 3145 题，每题 3 分，共 45 分）下面有 3 篇短文，每篇短文后有 5 道题。请根据短文内容，为每题确定 1 个最佳选项。第一篇 Trying to Find a PartherOne of the most striking findings of a recent poll in the UK is that of the people inbterviewed,one in two believes that it is becoming more difficult to meet someone to start a family with.Why

2、 are many finding it increasingly difficult to start and sustain intimate relationships?Does modern life really make it harder to fall in love?Or are we making it harder for ourselves?It is certainly the case today that contemporary couples benefit in different ways from relationships.Women no longe

3、r rely upon partners for economic security or status.A man doesn t expect his spouse to be in sole charge of running his household and raising his children.But perhaps the knowledge that we can live perfectly well without a partnership meansthatit takes much more to persuade people to abandon their

4、independence.In theory,finding a partner should be much simpler these days.Only a few generations ago,your choice of soulmate （ 心上人 ） was constrained by geography,social convention and family tradition.Although it was never explicit,many marriages were essentiallyarranged.Now those barriers have bee

5、n broken down.You can approach a builder or a brain surgeon in any bar in any city on any given evening.When the world is your oyster （ 牡蛎 ）,you surely have a better chance of finding a pearl.But it seems that the old conventions have been replaced by an even tighter constraint:the tyranny of choice

6、.The expectations of partners are inflated to an unmanageable degree:good looks,impressive salary,kind to grandmother,and right socks.There is no room for error in the first impression.We think that a relationship can be perfect.If it isn t,it is disposable.We work to protect ourselves against futur

7、e heartache and don t put in the hard emotional labor needed to build a strong relationship.Of course,this is complicated by realities.The cost of housing and child-rearing creates pressure to have a stable income and career before a life partnership.31. What does the recent poll show?A. It is getti

8、ng more difficult for a woman to find her husband.B. It is getting increasingly difficult to start a familyl.C. It is getting more difficult for a man to find his wife.D. It is getting increasingly difficult to develop an intimate relationship with your spouse.32. Which of the following is NOT true

9、about a contemporary married couple?A. The wife doesn t have to raise the children all by herself.B. The husband doesn t have to support the family all by himself.C. The wife is no longer the only person to manage the household.D. They will receive a large sum of money from the govemment.33. Which o

10、f the following was NOT a constraint on one s choice of soulmate in the old days?A. The health condition of his or her grandmother.B. The geographical environment.C. The social convention.D. The family tradition.34. Which of the following is NOT expected of a partner according to this passage?A. Goo

11、d looks.B. An impressive career.C. A high salary.D. A fine sense of humor.35. The word “ sustain” （paragraph 2）could be best replaced byA. “reduce” .B. “shake” .C. “maintain”.D. “weaken” .第二篇 A Very Slow RideThe surface of the earth may seem very stable to you.But you might be amazed if you knew som

12、e of the things that are going on under that surface.The earth has an outer shell of rigid pieces called tectonic plates （ 地壳构造板块 ）.The plates include both ocean floor and dry land.Some have whole continents on top of them.The continents on top of the plates are just going along for a slow ride,movi

13、ng only about four inches per year.But even this small movement causes three types of big interactions.One type is ocean ridges.These ridges develop in places where two plates are moving away from each other.As the plates separate,hot magma（ 岩浆 ）flows up to fill the space.New crust（ 地 壳 ）builds up o

14、n the plate boundaries and causes ocean ridges.These ridges form long mountain ranges,which only rise above the ocean surface in a few places.Another type of reaction-trenches-occurs between two plates that are moving toward each other.As the plates meet,one bends downward and plunges undemeath the

15、other.This forms deep ocean trenches.The Marianas Trench off Guam in the western Pacific Ocean has a depth of more than 36,000 feet.This is the lowest point on the ocean floor.If the leading edges of the two colliding plates carry continents,then the layers of rock in the overriding plate crumple（ 变

16、皱 ）and fold.A plate that carried what is now lndia collided with the southern edge of the plate that carried Europe and most of Asia.This caused the Himalayas,the world s highest mountains.The third reaction is transform faults（ 转换断层 ）.These faults occur where two plates that are traveling in opposi

17、te directions slide past each other.Severe earthquakes can occur.The San Andreas Fault in Califomia is a good example of this type of movement.36. The word “ stable” （paragraph 1）meansA. “a place for horses” .B. “ calm and easygoing” .C. “steady or firm ” .D. “a collection of animals ” .37. To expla

18、in the effect of trenches,the writer gives the example ofA. the sea floor in the Atlantic Ocean.B. the Himalayan Mountains.C. Europe.D. lndia.38. The San Andreas Fault is an example ofA. a severe earthquake.B. a California rock formation.C. two plates moving apart.D. two plates aliding past each oth

19、er.39. According to the passage,the earth isA. always changing.B. becoming smaller.C. moving faster.D. getting hotter.40. This passage is mostly aboutA. effects of movements of the earth s plates.B. different types of continents.C. the Marianas Trench.D. transform faults.第三篇 Mobile Phones:Are They a

20、bout to Transform Our Lives?We love them so much that some of us sleep with them under the pillow,yet we are increasingly concerned that we cannot escape their electronic reach.We use them to convey our most intimate secrets,yet we worry that they are a threat to our privacy.We rely on them more tha

21、n the lnternet to cope with modern life,yet many of us don t believe advertisements saying we need more advanced services.Sweeping aside the doubts that many people feel about the benefits of new third generation phones and fears over the health effects of phone masts（天线竿）,a recent report clains tha

22、t the long-term effects of new mobile technologies will be entirely positive so long as the public can be convinced to make use of them.Research about users of mobile phones reveals that the mobile has already moved beyond being a mere practical communications tool to become the backbone （ 支 柱）of mo

23、dern social life,from love affairs to friendship to work.One female teacher,32,told the researchers:“I love my phone.It s my friend. ”The close relationship between user and phone is most pronounced among teenagers,the report says,who regard their mobiles as an expression of their identity.This is p

24、artly because mobiles are seen as being beyond the control of parents.But the researchers suggest that another reason may be that mobiles,especially taxt messaging,are seen as a way of overcoming shyness. “Textinisgoften used for apologies,to excuse lateness or to communicate other things that make

25、us uncomfortable,”the report says,The impact oefs,phhoownever,has been local ratherthan global,supporting existing friendships and networks,rather than opening users to a newbroader community.Even the language of texting in one area can be incomprehensible to anybody from another area.Among the most

26、 important benefits of using mobile phones,the report claims,will be a vastly improved mobile infrastructure（ 基础设施 ）,providing gains throughout the economy,and the provision of a more sophisticated location-based services for users.The report calls on govemment to put more effort into the delivery o

27、f services by bobile phone,with suggestions including public transport and traffic information and doctors text messages to remind patients of appointments. love that idea,”one user said in an interview.“It would mean I wouldn t have to write a hundremessages to myself. ”There are many other possibi

28、lities.At a recent trade fair in Sweden,a mobile navigation product was launched.When the user enters a destination,a route is automatically downloaded to their mobile and presented by voice,pictures and maps as they drive.In future,these devices will also be able to plan around congestion（交通堵塞）and

29、road works in real time.Third generation phones will also allow for remote monitoring of patients by doctors.In Britain scientists are develop ing a asthma（ 哮喘 ）ma nageme nt soluti on,using mobiles to detect early sig ns of an attack.41. What does the writer suggest in the first paragraph aboutour a

30、ttitudes to mobile phones?A. We cant live without them.B. We are worried about using them so much.C. We have contradictory feelings about them.D. We need them more than anything else to deal with modem life.42. Which of the following statements is true?A. Modern social life relies significantly on t

31、he use of mobile phones.B. Mobile phones make romantic communication more difficult.C. Mobile phones encourage people to make friends.D. Mobile phones enable people of different countries to talk without translation.43. Teenagers have a close relationship with their mobile phones partly because they

32、A. use text messages more than any other group.B. are more likely to be late than older people.C. tend to feel uncomfortable in many situations.D. take mobile phones as an indication of independence from their parents.44.It is suggested that mobile phones should be used toA. give the address of the

33、nearest hospital.B. show bus and train timetables.C. arrange delivery of mails.D. cure diseases.45.The navigation product launched in Sweden is helpful to drivers because it canA. suggest the best route to get to a place.B. download maps of the area.C. tell them which roads are congested.D. show the

34、m how to avoid road works.第 5 部分：补全短文（第 4650 题，每题 2 分，共 10 分）下面的短文有 5处空白， 短文后有 6 个句子， 其中 5 个取自短文， 请根据短文内容将其 分别放回原有位置，以恢复文章原貌。American DreamsThere is a common response to America among foreign writers:the US is a land of extremes where the best of things qre just as easily found as the worst.This is

35、a cliche（ 陈词滥调 ）.In the land of black and white,people should not be too surprised to find some of the biggest gaps between the rich and the poor in the world.But the American Dream offers a way out to everyone.（ 46） No class system or govemment stands in the way.Sadly,this old argument is no longer

36、 true.Over the past few decades there has been a fundamental shift in the structure of the American economy.The gap between the rich and the poor has widened and widened. （47）Over the past 25 years the median US family income has gone up 18 per cent.For the top 1 per cent,however,it has gone up 200

37、per cent.Twenty-five years ago the top fifth of Americans had an average income 6.7 times that of the bottom fifth. （ 48）Inequalities have grown worse in different regions.In California,incomes for lower class families have fallen by 4 per cent since 1969. （ 49） This has led to an economy hugely in

38、favor of a small group of very rich Americans.The wealthiest 1 per cent of households now control a third of the national wealth.There are now 37 million Americans living in poverty.At 12.7 per cent of the population,it is the highest percentage in the developed world.Yet the tax burden on America s

39、 rich is falling,not growing. （ 50） There was an economic theory holding that the rich spending more would benefit everyone as a whole.But clearly that theory has not worked in reality.A. Nobody is poor in the US.B. The top 0.01 per cent of households has seen its tax bite fall by a full 25 percenta

40、ge points since 1980.C. For upper class families they have risen 41 per cent.D. Now it is 9.8 times.E. As it does so,the possibility to cross that gap gets smaller and smaller.F. All one has to do is to work hard and climb the ladder towards the top.第 6 部分：完形填空（第 5165 题，每题 1 分，共 15 分） 下面的短文有 15 处空白，

41、请根据短文内容为每处空白确定1 个最佳选项。Robots May Allow Surgery in SpaceSmall robots designed by University of Nebraska researchers may allow doctors on Earth to help perform surgery on patients in space.The tiny,wheeled robots, （ 51） are about 3 inches tall and as wide as a lipstick case,can be slipped into small i

42、ncisions（ 切 口 ）and computer-controlled by surgeons in different locations.Some robots are equipped（ 52）cameras and lights and can send images back to surgeons and others have surgical tools attached that can be（ 53）remotely.“We think this is going to （54） open surgery,” Dr Dmitry Oleynikov said at a

43、 news conference.Oleynikov is a （ 55） in computer-assisted surgery at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.Officials hope that NASA will teach（ 56）to use the robots soon enough so that surgeriescould one day be performed in space.On earth,the surgeons could control the robots themselve

44、s （ 57 ） other locations.For example,the robots could enable surgeons in other places to （ 58）on injured soldiers on the front line.Researchers plan tp seek federal regulatory （ 59） early nest year.Tests on animals have been successful,and tests on humans in England will begin very soon.The camera-carrying robots can provide（ 60）of affected areas and the ones with surgical tools will be able to maneuver（ 操控 ）inside the body in ways surgeons hands cant.The vie