四级阅读理解

1、 In recent years，teachers of introductory courses in Asian American studies have been facing a dilemma nonexistent a few decades ago，when hardly any texts in that field were available. Today，excellent anthologies (文选) and other introductory texts exist，and books on individual Asian American national

2、ity groups and on general issues important for Asian Americans are published almost weekly. Even professors who are experts in the field find it difficult to decide which of these to assign to students； nonexperts who teach in related areas and are looking for writings for and by Asian Americans to

3、include in survey courses are in an even worse position.A complicating factor has been the continuing lack of specialized one-volume reference works on Asian Americans， such as biographical dictionaries or desktop encyclopedias. Such works would enable students taking Asian American studies courses

4、(and professors in related fields) to look up basic information on Asian American individuals， institutions， history， and culture without having to wade through（费力的阅读冗长或艰深的材料） mountains of primary source material. In addition, given such works，Asian American studies professors might feel more free t

5、o include more challenging Asian American material in their introductory reading lists， since good reference works allow students to acquire on their own the background information necessary to interpret difficult or unfamiliar material.(221 words)1. The author of the passage is primarily concerned

6、with doing which of the following？(A) Responding to a criticism(B) Describing a course of study(C) Discussing a problem(D) Evaluating a past course of action2. The “dilemma” mentioned in line 3 can best be characterized as being caused by the necessity to make a choice when faced with a(A) Lack of a

7、cceptable alternatives(B) Lack of strict standards for evaluating alternatives(C) Preponderance of bad alternatives as compared to good(D) Multitude of different alternatives3. Biographical dictionaries and desktop encyclopedias are _.(A) primary source materials(B) introductory texts(C) excellent a

8、nthologies(D) reference materials4. The passage implies that which of the following was true of introductory courses in Asian American studies a few decades ago？(A) The range of different textbooks that could be assigned for such courses was extremely limited.(B) The texts assigned as readings in su

9、ch courses were often not very challenging for students.(C) Students often complained about the texts assigned to them in such courses. (D) Such courses were offered only at schools whose libraries were rich in primary sources.5. According to the passage， the existence of good one- volume reference

10、works about Asian Americans could result in(A) Increased agreement among professors of Asian American studies regarding the quality of the sources available in their field(B) An increase in the number of students signing up for introductory courses in Asian American studies(C) Increased accuracy in

11、writings that concern Asian American history and culture(D) The inclusion of a wider range of Asian American material in introductory reading lists in Asian American studies1.文章初读：（只读各段首句）第一段首句：In recent years， teachers of introductory courses in Asian American studies have been facing a dilemma non

12、existent a few decades ago， when hardly any texts in that field were available.翻译：近些年，亚裔美国人研究中教授基础课程的老师一直面临着一个困境。而几十年前那个领域没有那么多可选的教材时，这个困境是不存在的。评：这句话给出了文章的大背景，一种现象。提到了问题解决型文章的标志性词汇dilemma。这是一句非常经典的GMAT阅读句子，逻辑内容很丰富，如下表示：几十年前没有dilemma几乎没有书现在有dilemma？ （书很多）很明显，作者通过这个句子想暗示的是，现在书很多。果然，下一句话说的就是书很多。第二段首句：A

13、 complicating factor has been the continuing lack of specialized one-volume reference works on Asian Americans， such as biographical dictionaries or desktop encyclopedias.翻译：一个复杂的因素是一直缺乏专门的关于亚裔美国人的单卷本参考文献，比如说传记式字典或者桌面式百科全书。评：上来就有一个因果指示词factor，可想而知，这段话是将要去分析造成第一段中dilemma的原因。2.文章精读（精读各句，把握逻辑关系）第一段：（标记

14、重要逻辑关系词及态度评价词）In recent years， teachers of introductory courses in Asian American studies have been facing a dilemma nonexistent a few decades ago， when hardly any texts in that field were available. Today， excellent anthologies and other introductory texts exist， and books on individual Asian Ameri

15、can nationality groups and on general issues important for Asian Americans are published almost weekly. Even professors who are experts in the field find it difficult to decide which of these to assign to students； nonexperts who teach in related areas and are looking for writings for and by Asian A

16、mericans to include in survey courses are in an even worse position.翻译：近些年，亚裔美国人研究中教授基础课程的老师一直面临着一个困境。而几十年前在那个领域没有那么多可选的教材时，这个困境几乎不存在。今天，优秀的选集或者基础教材比比皆是，关于单独的亚裔美国籍群体和关于亚裔美国人重要的普遍问题书记几乎每周都会出版。即便是该领域专家的教授们也为向学生推荐哪本教科书而犯难，更不用说在相关领域教书的非专家们，他们寻找为亚裔美国人或由亚裔美国人所写的作品，这些作品包括在调查课程当中。第二段：（标记重要逻辑关系词及态度评价词）A comp

17、licating factor has been the continuing lack of specialized one-volume reference works on Asian Americans， such as biographical dictionaries or desktop encyclopedias. Such works would enable students taking Asian American studies courses (and professors in related fields) to look up basic informatio

18、n on Asian American individuals， institutions， history， and culture without having to wade through mountains of primary source material. In addition，given such works， Asian American studies professors might feel more free to include more challenging Asian American material in their introductory read

19、ing lists， since good reference works allow students to acquire on their own the background information necessary to interpret difficult or unfamiliar material.翻译：一个复杂的因素是一直缺乏专门的关于亚裔美国人的单独成卷的参考文献，比如说传记式字典或者桌面式百科全书。这样的文献可以让学习亚裔美国人研究课程的学生（以及相关领域的教授们）查询关于亚裔美国个人、制度、历史和文化的基本信息而不用跋山涉水以获取一手资料。此外，有了这样的文献，亚裔

20、美国人研究的教授们可能会感到在他们推荐的阅读书单中可以更自由地包括更多挑战性的亚裔美国人研究材料，因为好的参考文献可以让学生基于其个人背景知识获取必要的信息以解释困难的或者不熟悉的材料。3.做题：1. The author of the passage is primarily concerned with doing which of the following？(A) Recommending a methodology(B) Describing a course of study(C) Discussing a problem(D) Evaluating a past course o

21、f action(E) Responding to a criticism评：1) 主旨题：正确答案为(C)。文章类型为解决型文章，主旨必为正态度或无态度，不过本题中五个选项都不涉及负态度，不能排除。但是有万能选项(C)，再分析其它选项看是否有硬伤，以确定(C)项是否正确。2) 错项分析：(A)： 无中生有：方法论是一套系统的原则、做法或方法，文章并未提及。(B)： 无中生有：作者并未描述亚裔美国人研究中的一门专门的课程，而是指出了在这个领域中所有课程都有的问题。(D)： 与原文相反：作者讨论的是现状，开头的in recent years暗示了时间段。(E)： 无中生有：如果作者是要回应一个批

22、评，文章应该要引用批评的来源，并且讨论这些来源的基础。但是文章并没有引用这样的来源。2. The “dilemma” mentioned in line 3 can best be characterized as being caused by the necessity to make a choice when faced with a(A) Lack of acceptable alternatives(B) Lack of strict standards for evaluating alternatives(C) Preponderance of bad alternatives

23、 as compared to good(D) Multitude of different alternatives(E) Large number of alternatives that are nearly identical in content1) 直接细节题：正确答案为(D)。问题是让读者考虑作者使用“dilemma”的语境。原文第一句指出这种困境从前不曾有过，因为当时几乎没有可用的教材。第二句介绍了现状：当有如此多的可选教材时，从中选择存在困难。2) 错项分析：(A)： 背道而驰：原文第二句说了现状不是缺乏而是过剩。(B)： 无中生有：原文并没有提及评价各种的教材的严格标准。(

24、C)： 与原文相反：作者称anthologies excellent， 并且没有以负面的态度描述alternatives(E)： 与原文相反：原文第二句给出了四种材料： anthologies， introductory texts， books on individual nationality groups， books on general issues. 这些材料内容各异。3. The passage suggests that the factor mentioned in lines 15-18 complicates professors attempts to construc

25、t introductory reading lists for courses in Asian American studies in which of the following ways？(A) By making it difficult for professors to identify primary source material and to obtain standard information on Asian American history and culture(B) By preventing professors from identifying excell

26、ent anthologies and introductory texts in the field that are both recent and understandable to students(C) By preventing professors from adequately evaluating the quality of the numerous texts currently being published in the field(D) By making it more necessary for professors to select readings for

27、 their courses that are not too challenging for students unfamiliar with Asian American history and culture(E)By making it more likely that the readings professors assign to students in their courses will be drawn solely from primary materials.评：1)间接细节题：正确答案为(D)。the complicating factor指的是缺乏参考文献。而在文章

28、最后一句讨论了这个因素如何影响教授制定其引导性书单：如果学生有好的参考文献可供查询，教授们的书单选材自由度可以更大，可选更多有挑战性的材料。言外之意即是：当前教授没法将挑战性材料列入书单因为这种材料对学生而言太难或太不熟悉。2)错项分析：(A)： 确定最重要的第一手材料不是问题，作者指出(B)： 缺乏参考文献并不阻碍教授们鉴定近期出版的大量可用资源。第二段提到这些资源(C)： 无中生有：作者并没有将参考材料缺乏和教材评估不足联系起来。(E)： 无中生有：文章没有暗示教授们仅仅会使用最重要的材料。4. The passage implies that which of the following

29、 was true of introductory courses in Asian American studies a few decades ago？(A) The range of different textbooks that could be assigned for such courses was extremely limited.(B) The texts assigned as readings in such courses were often not very challenging for students.(C) Students often complain

30、ed about the texts assigned to them in such courses.(D) Such courses were offered only at schools whose libraries were rich in primary sources.(E) Such courses were the only means then available by which people in the United States could acquire knowledge of the field.评：1） 间接细节题：正确答案为(A)。根据原文第一句：近年来

31、，老师们面临着过去几十年不曾有过的困境，那些年几乎没有教材可选。根据这句话，可以合理推测几十年前，这个领域中的基础课程老师鲜有教材可选。2） 错项分析：(B)： 无中生有：文章没有信息可以推断出关于过去阅读的难度。(C)： 无中生有：文章没有涉及学生对阅读材料作何反应的信息。(D)： 无中生有：文章没有讨论可在学校图书馆获取的首要来源材料。(E)： 无中生有：作者没有说基础课程是获取该领域知识的唯一方法。5. According to the passage， the existence of good one-volume reference works about Asian Americ

32、ans could result in(A) Increased agreement among professors of Asian American studies regarding the quality of the sources available in their field(B) An increase in the number of students signing up for introductory courses in Asian American studies(C) Increased accuracy in writings that concern As

33、ian American history and culture(D) The use of introductory texts about Asian American history and culture in courses outside the field of Asian American studies(E) The inclusion of a wider range of Asian American material in introductory reading lists in Asian American studies评：1） 间接细节题：正确答案为(E)。第二

34、段中作者确定了有一本专门的关于亚裔美国人的参考文献带来的好处：a. 学生可以更容易地查询基本信息， b. 教授可以推荐更有挑战性的教材，因为学生有地方查询用于理解这些教材的信息。E项符合好处b。2）错项分析：(A)： 无中生有：作者没有暗示参考文献有助于增加关于资源质量意见的共识，也没有质疑这些资源的质量。(B)： 无中生有：作者没有将参考文献的可用性和课程的普及程度联系起来。(C)： 无中生有：作者没有说参考文献的可用性将提高有关该领域作品的精确性。(D)： 无中生有：文章没有信息暗示一本上乘的专门关于亚裔美国人的参考文献的出现将使这个领域外的其它领域也受益。 Recent research

35、 has claimed that an excess of positive ions in the air can have an ill effect on peoples physical or psychological health. What are positive ions？Well，the air is full of ions，electrically charged particles，and generally there is a rough balance between the positive and the negative charged. But som

36、etimes this balance becomes disturbed and a larger proportion of positive ions are found. This happens naturally before thunderstorm，earthquakes when winds such as the Mistral，Hamsin or Sharav are blowing in certain countries. Or it can be caused by a build-up of static electricity indoors from carp

37、ets or clothing made of man-made fibres，or from TV sets，duplicators or computer display screens. When a large number of positive ions are present in the air many people experience unpleasant effects such as headaches，fatigue，irritability，and some particularly sensitive people suffer nausea or even m

38、ental disturbance. Animals are also affected，particularly before earthquakes，snakes have been observed to come out of hibernation，rats to flee from their burrows，dogs howl and cats jump about unaccountably. This has led the US Geographical Survey to fund a network of volunteers to watch animals in a

39、n effort to foresee such disasters before they hit vulnerable areas such as California.Conversely，when large numbers of negative ions are present，then people have a feeling of well-being. Natural conditions that produce these large amounts are near the sea，close to waterfalls or fountains，or in any

40、place where water is sprayed，or forms a spray. This probably accounts for the beneficial effect of a holiday by the sea， or in the mountains with tumbling streams or waterfalls.To increase the supply of negative ions indoors，some scientists recommend the use of ionisers：small portable machines，which generate negative ions. They claim that ionisers not only clean and refresh the air but also improve the health of people sensitive to excess positive ions. Of course，there are the detractors，