四级阅读训练.docx

1、四级阅读训练Part II Reading Comprehension (35 minutes)Passage OneQuestions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.People tend to be more impressed by evidence that seems to confirm some relationship. Thus many are convinced their dreams are prophetic (预言的) because a few have come true; they fail to n

2、otice the many that have not. Consider also the belief that “the phone always rings when Im in the shower.” If it does ring while you are in the shower, the event will stand out and be remembered. If it doesnt ring, that nonevent probably wont even register (留下印象).People want to see order, pattern a

3、nd meaning in the world. Consider, for example, the common belief that things like personal misfortunes, plane crashes, and deaths “happen in threes.” Such beliefs stem from the tendency of people to allow the third event to define the time period. If three plane crashes occur in a month, then the p

4、eriod of time that counts as their “happening together” is one month; if three crashes occur in a year, the period of time is stretched. Flexible end points reinforce such beliefs.We also tend to believe what we want to believe. A majority of people think they are more intelligent, more fair-minded

5、and more skilled behind the wheel of an automobile than the average person. Part of the reason we view ourselves so favorably is that we use criteria that work to our advantage. As economist Thomas Schelling explains, “Everybody ranks himself high in qualities he values: careful drivers give weight

6、to care, skilled drivers give weight to skill, and those who are polite give weight to courtesy,” This way everyone ranks high on his own scale.Perhaps the most important mental habit we can learn is to be cautious (谨慎的) in drawing conclusions. The “evidence” of everyday life is sometimes misleading

7、.21. In the first paragraph the author states that _.A) dreams cannot be said to be prophetic even though a few have come trueB) dreams are prophetic because some of them did come trueC) dreams may come true if clearly rememberedD) dreams and reality are closely related（A）22. By “things like.” “happ

8、en in threes” (Para. 3, Line 2), the author indicates that people believe _.A) personal misfortunes tend to happen every now and thenB) personal misfortunes, plane crashes, and deaths usually happen togetherC) misfortunes tend to occur according to certain patternsD) misfortunes will never occur mor

9、e than three times to a person in his lifetime（C）23. Ten word “courtesy” (Para. 4, line 6) probably means _.A) good mannersB) appropriate speechC) friendly relationsD) satisfactory service（A）24. What can be inferred from the passage? _.A) Happenings that go unnoticed deserve more attention.B) In a s

10、eries of misfortunes the third one is usually the most serious.C) People tend to make use of evidence that supports their own beliefs.D) Believers of misfortunes happening in threes are cautious in interpreting events.（A）25. It can be concluded from the passage that _.A) there is some truth even in

11、the wildest dreamsB) one should take notice of other peoples meritsC) there is no order or pattern in world eventsD) we should not base our conclusions on accidental evidence（D）Passage TwoQuestions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.It has been thought and said that Africans are born with m

12、usical talent. Because music is so important in the lives of many Africans and because so much music is performed in Africa, we are inclined to think that Africans are musicians. The impression is strengthened when we look at ourselves and find that we have become largely a society of musical specta

13、tors (旁观). Music is important to us, but most of us can be considered consumers rather than producers of music. We have records, television, concerts, and radio to fulfill many of our musical needs. In most situations where music is performed in our culture it is not difficult to distinguish the aud

14、ience from the performers, but such is often not the case in Africa. Alban Ayipaga, a Kasena semiprofessional musician from northern Ghana, says that when his flute (长笛) and drum ensemble (歌舞团) is performing. “Anybody can take part”. This is true, but Kasena musicians recognize that not all people a

15、re equally capable of taking part in the music. Some can sing along with the drummers, but relatively few can drum and even fewer can play the flute along with the ensemble. It is fairly common in Africa for there to be an ensemble of expert musicians surrounded by others who join in by clapping, si

16、nging, or somehow adding to the totality of musical sound. Performances often take place in an open area (that is, not on a stage) and so the lines between the performing nucleus and the additional performers, active spectators, and passive spectators may be difficult to draw from our point of view.

17、26. The difference between us and Africans, as far as music is concerned, is that _.A) most of us are consumers while most of them are producers of musicB) we are musical performers and they are semiprofessional musiciansC) most of us are passive spectators while they are active spectatorsD) we are

18、the audience and they are the additional performers（C）27. The word “such” (Line 6) refers to the fact that _.A) music is performed with the participation of the audienceB) music is performed without the participation of the audienceC) people tend to distinguish the audience from the performersD) peo

19、ple have records, television sets and radio to fulfill their musical needs（B）28. The author of the passage implies that _.A) all Africans are musical and therefore much music is performed in AfricaB) not all Africans are born with musical talent although music is important in their livesC) most Afri

20、cans are capable of joining in the music by playing musical instrumentsD) most Africans perform as well as professional musicians（B）29. The word “nucleus” (Line 13) probably refers to _.A) musicians famous in AfricaB) musicians at the center of attentionC) musicians acting as the core in a performan

21、ceD) active participants in a musical performance（D）30. The best title for this passage would be _.A) The Importance of Music to African PeopleB) Differences Between African Music and Music of Other CountriesC) The Relationship Between Musicians and Their AudienceD) A Characteristic Feature of Afric

22、an Musical Performances（D）Passage ThreeQuestions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage.Most people would agree that, although our age exceeds all previous ages in knowledge, there has been no corresponding increase in wisdom. But Agreement ceases as soon as we attempt to define “wisdom” and co

23、nsider means of promoting it.There are several factors that contribute to wisdom. Of these I should put first a sense of proportion: the capacity to take account of all the important factors in a problem and to attach to each its due weight. This has become more difficult than it used to be owing to

24、 the extent and complexity of the special knowledge required of various kinds of technicians. Suppose, for example, that you are engaged in research in scientific medicine. The work is difficult and is likely to absorb the whole of your mind. You have no time to consider the effect which your discov

25、eries or inventions may have outside the field of medicine. You succeed (let us say) as modern medicine has succeeded, in enormously lowering the infant death-rate, not only in Europe and America, but also in Asia and Africa. This has the entirely unintended result of making the food supply inadequa

26、te and lowing the standard of life in the parts of the world that have the greatest populations. To take an even more dramatic example, which is in everybodys mind at the present time; you study the makeup of the atom from a disinterested (无利害关系的) desire for knowledge, and by chance place in the han

27、ds of a powerful mad man the means of destroying the human race.Therefore, with every increase of knowledge and skill, wisdom becomes more necessary, for every such increase augments (增强) our capacity for realizing our purposes, and therefore augments our capacity for evil, if our purpose are unwise

28、.31. Disagreement arises when people try to decide _.A) how much more wisdom we have now than beforeB) what wisdom is and how to develop itC) if there is a great increase of wisdom in our ageD) whether wisdom can be developed or not（B）32. According to the author, “wisdom” is the ability to _.A) care

29、fully consider the bad effects of any kind of research workB) give each important problem some careful considerationC) acquire a great deal of complex and special knowledgeD) give suitable consideration to all the possible elements in a problem（D）33. Lowering the infant death-rate may _.A) prove to

30、be helpful everywhere in the worldB) give rise to an increase in population in EuropeC) cause food shortages in Asia and AfricaD) raise the living standard of the people in Africa（C）34. The author uses the examples in the passage to illustrate his point that _.A) its extremely difficult to consider

31、all the important elements in problemB) success in medical research has its negative effectsC) scientists may unknowingly cause destruction to the human raceD) its unwise to be totally absorbed in research in scientific medicine（A）35. What is the main idea of the passage?A) It is unwise to place the

32、 results of scientific research in the hands of a powerful mad man.B) The more knowledge one has, the wiser one becomes.C) Any increase of knowledge could lead to disastrous results without the guidance of wisdom.D) Wisdom increases in proportion to ones age.（C）Passage FourQuestions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage.For any given task in Britain there are more men than are needed. Strong union