2010年下半年12月最新大学英语四级考试资料

1、学府教育 成就你我！ 更多成功的机会等着你！2010年6月英语四级复习大全第二章 阅读理解第二节 强化训练题Passage 1 Psychics (通灵的人) are people who can get information about people, places, or situations through a sixth sense-a sense that exists in addition to those of seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching. They can use their psychic abilit

2、y to heal people who are sick, to give advice, to give hints about the future, and to do many other things. And its not just individuals who use psychics; sometimes companies and governments use psychics, too. One year a company called Delphi and Associates earned $120,000 on the stock market with t

3、he help of psychics. So how can I get some psychic help? you may ask yourself. Well, you dont have to pay a lot of money to a professional psychic. You can start by using your own psychic ability. Psychic abilities are really just another sense, similar to our other five senses. The difference is th

4、at we never develop our psychic sense in the same way that we develop our other senses. We train our eyes to see the difference between a V and a U; we train our ears to hear the difference between a /ch/ and a /sh/ sound; we can feel the difference between silk and leather; we can smell and taste i

5、f milk is sour. But our sixth sense, our psychic sense, seldom develops very much. Because most of us ignore our psychic sense for so long, it takes some time to develop it. If you have never played soccer before, you cannot expect to be a good player after three lessons. It might take years to beco

6、me really good. Psychic ability works the same way.1. People use psychics _. A mainly to see the future B to make money C to see what one cannot usually see D for many reasons 2. _ learn to use their psychic ability. A Many people B Many companies C Few people D Few governments 3. Psychic abilities

7、_. A are similar to other senses B work in the same way as other senses C are different from other senses D work together with other senses 4. Our psychic sense seldom develops very much because _. A we never sense it B. we never believe in it C we ignore it D we dont want to take time to train it 5

8、. The attitude of the author towards psychic abilities is _. A positive B negative C critical D neutral Passage 2 It is not often realized that women held a high place in southern European societies in the 10th and 11th centuries. As a wife, the woman was protected by the setting up of a dowry (嫁妆)

9、or decimum. Admittedly, the purpose of this was to protect her against the risk of being abandoned, but in reality its function in the social and family life of the time was much more important. The decimum was the wifes right to receive a tenth of all her husbands property. The wife had the right t

10、o hold back consent, in all transactions (交易) the husband would make. And more than just a right: the documents show that she enjoyed a real power of decision, equal to that of her husband. In no case do the documents indicate any degree of difference in the legal status of husband and wife. The wif

11、e shared in the management of her husbands personal property, but the opposite was not always true. Women seemed perfectly prepared to defend their own inheritance against husbands who tried to exceed their rights, and on occasion they showed a fine fighting spirit. A case in point is that of Maria

12、Vivas, a Catalan woman of Barcelona. Having agreed with her husband Miro to sell a field she had inherited, for the needs of the household, she insisted on compensation. None being offered, she succeeded in dragging her husband to the official in charge to have a contract as expected drawn up assign

13、ing her a piece of land from Miros personal inheritance. The unfortunate husband was obliged to agree, as the contract says, for the sake of peace. Either through the dowry or through being hot-tempered, the Catalan wife knew how to win herself, within the context of the family, a powerful economic

14、position. 6. A decimum was _. A the wifes inheritance from her father B a gift of money to the new husband C a written contract D the wifes right to receive one-tenth of her husbands property 7. In the society described in the passage, the legal standing of the wife in marriage was _.A higher than t

15、hat of her husband B lower than that of her husband C the same as that of her husband D higher than that of a single woman 8. What compensation did Maria Vivas get for the field? A Some of the land Miro had inherited B A tenth of Miros land. C Money for household expenses. D Money from Miros inherit

16、ance. 9. Could a husband sell his wifes inheritance? A No, under no circumstances. B Yes, whenever he wished to. C Yes, if she agreed. D Yes, if his father-in-law agreed. 10. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as an effect of the dowry system? A The husband had to share the power of decision in

17、 marriage. B The wife was protected from being abandoned. C The wife gained a powerful economic position. D The husband was given control over his wifes property Passage 3 Some cynical experts feel that the automobile is bound to fall into disuse. They see a day in the not-too-distant future when al

18、l autos will be abandoned. Other authorities, however, think the auto is here to stay. They hold that the car will remain a leading means of city travel in the immediate future. The motorcar will undoubtedly change significantly over the next 30 years. It should become smaller, safer, and more econo

19、mical, and should not be powered by the gasoline engine. The car of the future should be far more pollution-free than present models. Regardless of its power source, the auto in the future will still be the main source of traffic congestion (拥挤) in cities. One proposed solution to this problem is th

20、e computerized highway system. When the auto enters the highway system, a retractable (可伸缩的) arm will drop from the auto and make contact with a rail, which is similar to those powering subway trains electrically. Once attached to the rail, the car will become electrically powered from the system, a

21、nd control of the vehicle will pass to a central computer. The computer will then monitor all of the cars movements. The driver will use a telephone to dial instructions about his destination into the system. The computer will calculate the best route, and reserve space for the car all the way to th

22、e correct exit from the highway. The driver will then be free to relax and wait for the buzzer (蜂鸣器) that will warn him of his coming exit. It is estimated that a computerized highway will be able to handle 10,000 vehicles per hour, compared with the 1,500 to 2,000 vehicles that can be carried by a

23、present-day highway.11. One significant improvement in the future car will probably be _.A its power source B its driving system C its monitoring system D its seating capacity 12. What is the authors main concern? A How to make automobiles pollution-free B How to abandon automobiles in the future. C

24、How to solve the problem of traffic jams. DHow to develop a computerized subway system. 13. What provides autos with electric power in a computerized highway system? A A rail. B An engine.C A retractable arm.D A computer controller.14. In a computerized highway system, all the driver needs to do is

25、_. A keep in the right lane B wait to arrive at his destination C keep in constant touch with the computer center D inform the system of his destination by phone 15. What is the authors attitude toward the future of autos?AEnthusiastic. BCynical. COptimistic. D Cautious. Passage 4Stock prices tumble

26、d on Wall Street and across much of the rest of the world yesterday. They were driven sharply lower by worries over slowing economic growth in the United States and worsening borrowing conditions that could make everything from huge corporate buyouts to buying a new home more difficult. Major stock

27、market gauges - including the Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poors 500-stock index - were down more than 2 percent.It was the worst one-day decline on Wall Street since markets plunged worldwide in late February after an investing scare in Shanghai, and it occurred amid the biggest

28、volume of trading on the New York Stock Exchange in five years. Losses were comparable throughout Europe, and larger in many developing countries. The preconditions for a shock are in place, said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moodys E. Until very recently investors were very nonchalant about risks.

29、Stock markets have been volatile in recent weeks. Continued strong profits for many companies and an economic boom in Asia have helped push oil prices higher. Meanwhile, however, there are various signs of weakness in the American economy and new difficulties in borrowing for many homeowners and com

30、panies that are highly leveraged or have poor credit.The plunge came a day after the private equity firm buying Chrysler from DaimlerChrysler said it would complete the transaction for the automaker despite an inability to borrow the money in credit markets, as had been planned. Banks will hold thos

31、e loans, as they will for a similar deal involving Alliance Boots, a British pharmacy chain. Shares of DaimlerChrysler fell $4.11, to $88.91. There is fear, but not a fear of recession, said Bill Gross, chief investment officer of the Pacific Investment Management Company, known as Pimco, a large bo

32、nd management firm. The fear is directed toward the question of who will be willing to lend $200 billion to provide takeout financing for previously announced private equity deals.Yesterday, the Dow industrials plunged 311.50 points, or 2.3 percent, to 13,473.57, while the S.& P. 500 dropped 35.43 p

33、oints, or 2.3 percent, to 1,482.66. The Nasdaq composite index was down 48.83 points, or 1.8 percent, to 2,599.34. The S.& P. is still up 4.5 percent for the year, while the Dow is 8.1 percent higher. But the S.& P. has fallen 4.5 percent since reaching a record last week. In the last hour or so of

34、trading, the major Wall Street indexes recovered about a third of their steepest losses for the day. Losses of more than 2 percent were recorded in Spain, France and Germany, while Britain, Argentina, Mexico and Brazil fell more than 3 percent. Asian markets fell less yesterday, closing before the w

35、orst selling began, but opened down sharply on Friday.16.The passage is mainly_.A a review of the current condition of the American and world stock marketB an introduction of the world stock market C a survey of the stock deal of DaimlerChryslerD about the ups and downs of stock prices17.Which of th

36、e following is TRUE according to the text?A Currently it is more difficult for Americans to borrow money from banks for house purchase.B The losses from stock markets are similar in U.S. and some developing countries.C Investors were worried about the potential risks in stock market before yesterday

37、.D Economic boom in Asia prevent its stock market from falling.18. If you were an investor, you might be able to earn money if _.A you held the shares of DaimlerChryslerB you purchased new shares when the stock market opened yesterday.C you bought and sold shares at the last one or two hours before

38、closingD you didnt trade any shares yesterday.19.We can infer from the text that _.A The Chrysler transaction will turn to be a failure.B The banks hold the loans because of Alliance Boots.C Bill Gross thinks the fear is from the huge amount of money.D The difficulty of borrowing leads to the shrink

39、ing prices of shares of DaimlerChrysler.20. The writers attitude towards the current stock market is_.A biasedB objectiveC pessimisticD optimisticPassage 5In the next century well be able to alter our DNA radically, encoding our visions and vanities while concocting new life-forms. When Dr. Frankens

40、tein made his monster, he wrestled with the moral issue of whether he should allow it to reproduce, “Had I the right, for my own benefit, to inflict the curse upon everlasting generations?” Will such questions require us to develop new moral philosophies?Probably not. Instead, well reach again for a

41、 timetested moral concept, one sometimes called the Golden Rule and which Kant, the millenniums most prudent moralist, conjured up into a categorical imperative: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you; treat each person as an individual rather than as a means to some end.Under this moral

42、precept we should recoil at human cloning, because it inevitably entails using humans as means to other humans ends and valuing them as copies of others we loved or as collections of body parts, not as individuals in their own right. We should also draw a line, however fuzzy, that would permit using

43、 genetic engineering to cure diseases and disabilities but not to change the personal attributes that make someone an individual (IQ, physical appearance, gender and sexuality).The biotech age will also give us more reason to guard our personal privacy. Aldous Huxley in Brave New World, got it wrong

44、: rather than centralizing power in the hands of the state, DNA technology has empowered individuals and families. But the state will have an important role, making sure that no one, including insurance companies, can look at our genetic data without our permission or use it to discriminate against

45、us.Then we can get ready for the breakthroughs that could come at the end of the next century and the technology is comparable to mapping our genes: plotting the 10 billion or more neurons of our brain. With that information we might someday be able to create artificial intelligences that think and

46、experience consciousness in ways that are indistinguishable from a human brain. Eventually we might be able to replicate our own minds in a “dryware” machine, so that we could live on without the “wetware” of a biological brain and body. The 20th centurys revolution in infotechnology will thereby me

47、rge with the 21st centurys revolution in biotechnology. But this is science fiction. Lets turn the page now and get back to real science.21.Dr. Frankensteins remarks are mentioned in the text_A to give an episode of the DNA technological breakthroughs.B to highlight the importance of a means to some

48、 everlasting ends.C to show how he created a new form of life a thousand years ago.D to introduce the topic of moral philosophies incurred in biotechnology.22.It can be concluded from the text that the technology of human cloning should be employed_A excessively and extravagantly. B reasonably and c

49、autiously.C aggressively and indiscriminately. D openly and enthusiastically.23.From the text, we learn that Aldous Huxley is of the opinion that_A DNA technology should be placed in the charge of individuals.B government should assume less control over individuals.C people need government to protec

50、t their DNA information.D old moral precepts should be abolished on human cloning.24.Judged from the information in the last paragraph, we can predict that the author is likely to write which of the following in the next section?A The reflection upon biotechnological morality.B The offensive invasio

51、n of our personal privacy.C The inevitable change of IQs for our descendants.D The present state of biotechnological research.25.According to the last paragraph, “dry-ware” is to “wet-ware” as_A “collective” to “individual”. B “fictional” to “factual”.C “mechanical” to “corporeal”. D “temporary” to

52、“permanent”.Passage 6Before a big exam, a sound nights sleep will do you more good than poring over textbooks. That, at least, is the folk wisdom. And science, in the form of behavioral psychology, supports that wisdom. But such behavioral studies cannot distinguish between two competing theories of

53、 why sleep is good for the memory. One says that sleep is when permanent memories form. The other says that they are actually formed during the day, but then “edited” at night, to flush away what is superfluous.To tell the difference, it is necessary to look into the brain of a sleeping person, and

54、that is hard. But after a decade of painstaking work, a team led by Pierre Maquet at Liege University in Belgium has managed to do it. The particular stage of sleep in which the Belgian group is interested in is rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, when brain and body are active, heart rate and blood pre

55、ssure increase, the eyes move back and forth behind the eyelids as if watching a movie, and brainwave traces resemble those of wakefulness. It is during this period of sleep that people are most likely to relive events of the previous day in dreams.Dr. Maquet used an electronic device called PET to

56、study the brains of people as they practiced a task during the day, and as they slept during the following night. The task required them to press a button as fast as possible, in response to a light coming on in one of six positions. As they learnt how to do this, their response times got faster. Wh

57、at they did not know was that the appearance of the lights sometimes followed a pattern what is referred to as “artificial grammar”. Yet the reductions in response time showed that they learnt faster when the pattern was present than when there was not.What is more, those with more to learn (i.e., the “grammar”, as well as the mechanical task of pushing the button) have more active brains. The “editing” theory would not predict that, since