英语四级08年阅读理解真题.docx

1、英语四级08年阅读理解真题2002.1 Passage one Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage. Some pessimistic experts feel that the automobile is bound to fall into disuse. They see a day in the not-too-distant future when all autos will be abandoned and allowed to rust. Other authorities, however, think

2、the auto is here to stay. They hold that the car will remain a leading means of urban travel in the foreseeable future. The motorcar will undoubtedly change significantly over the next 30 years. It should become smaller, safer, and more economical, and should not be powered by the gasoline engine. T

3、he car of the future should be far more pollution-free than present types. Regardless of its power source, the auto in the future will still be the main problem in urban traffic congestion (拥挤). One proposed solution to this problem is the automated highway system. When the auto enters the highway s

4、ystem, 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, and control of the vehicle will pass to a central computer. The co

5、mputer 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 the correct exit from the highway. The driver will then be free to

6、relax and wait for the buzzer (蜂鸣器) that will warn him of his coming exit. It is estimated that an automated 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 present-day highway.Passage Two Questions 26 to 30 are based on the

7、 following passage. Foxes and farmers have never got on well. These small dog-like animals have long been accused of killing farm animals. They are officially classified as harmful and farmers try to keep their numbers down by shooting or poisoning them. Farmers can also call on the services of thei

8、r local hunt to control the fox population. Hunting consists of pursuing a fox across the countryside, with a group of specially trained dogs, followed by men and women riding horses. When the dogs eventually catch the fox they kill it or a hunter shoots it. People who take part in hunting think of

9、as a sport; they wear a special uniform of red coats and white trousers, and follow strict codes of behavior. But owning a horse and hunting regularly is expensive, so most hunters are wealthy. It is estimated that up to 100,000 people watch or take part in fox hunting. But over the last couple of d

10、ecades the number of people opposed to fox hunting, because they think it is brutal (残酷的), has risen sharply. Nowadays it is rare for a hunt to pass off without some kind of confrontation (冲突) between hunters and hunt saboteurs (阻拦者). Sometimes these incidents lead to violence, but mostly saboteurs

11、interfere with the hunt by misleading riders and disturbing the trail of the foxs smell, which the dogs follow. Noisy confrontations between hunters and saboteurs have become so common that they are almost as much a part of hunting as the pursuit of foxes itself. But this year supporters of fox hunt

12、ing face a much bigger threat to their sport. A Labour Party Member of the Parliament, Mike Foster, is trying to get Parliament to approve a new law which will make the hunting of wild animals with dogs illegal. If the law is passed, wild animals like foxes will be protected under the ban in Britain

13、.Passage Three Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage. For an increasing number of students at American universities, Old is suddenly in. The reason is obvious: the graying of America means jobs, coupled with the aging of the baby-boom (生育高峰) generation, a longer life span means that

14、the nations elderly population is bound to expand significantly over the next 50 years. By 2050, 25 percent of all Americans will be older than 65, up from 14 percent in 1995. The change poses profound questions for government and society, of course. But it also creates career opportunities in medic

15、ine and health professions, and in law and business as well. “In addition to the doctors, were going to need more sociologists, biologists, urban planners and specialized lawyers,” says Professor Edward Schneider of the University of Southern Californias (USC) School of Gerontology (老年学). Lawyers ca

16、n specialize in “elder law,” which covers everything from trusts and estates to nursing-home abuse and age discrimination (歧视). Businessmen see huge opportunities in the elder market because the baby boomers, 74 million strong, are likely to be the wealthiest group of retirees in human history. “Any

17、 student who combines an expert knowledge in gerontology with, say, an MBA or law degree will have a license to print money,” one professor says. Margarite Santos is a 21-year-old senior at USC. She began college as a biology major but found she was “really bored with bacteria.” So she took a class

18、in gerontology and discovered that she lied it. She says, “I did volunteer work in retirement homes and it was very satisfying.”这篇材料讲的是美国大学老年学专业的兴起。第一大段主要论述老龄化现象与老年学专业流行的关系。第二段具体论述老年学专业的学生如何受益于老龄化现象。最后一段是一个具体的例子。 第一段开头先是指出与老龄有关的专业受到越来越多学生的青睐，而后言简意赅地给出了原因：人口老龄带来了职业机遇（the graying of America means jobs

19、）。作者从头讲起，称人口老龄化现象不可避免。随着生育高峰一代的老去，在之后的50年间，美国的老年人口将会大幅度增加。到2050年，25%的人口将会超过65岁，而1995年只有14%（25percent of all Americans will be older than 65, up from 14 percent in 1995）。人口老龄化在普通人看来一般意味着社会问题，作者也指出了这一点（The change poses profound questions forgovernment and society），但随后就抛出自己的独特观点：老龄化也会给某些领域带来职业机遇。某位老年学教

20、授也称，老年人不仅需要医生，也需要更多的社会学家、生物学家等等等等。 比如，律师们可以专攻“老年法律”，其受诉范围从信托、不动产到疗养院虐待、年龄歧视(Lawyers can specialize in “elder law,” whichcovers everything from trusts and estates to nursing-home abuse and agediscrimination)，可以说十分广阔。商人们则在老年人市场看到了巨大的商业机遇，因为生育高峰一代足有7400万人，而且很有可能是人类历史上最富有的退休老人群体。老龄化给这些领域带来了职业机遇，学生们自然会对老

21、年学趋之若鹜。作者援引老年学教授的话说，一位MBA或者法律专业的毕业生，如果具备了老年学专业知识，那就将获得源源不断的财富。 作者在最后一段举了一个学生的例子。Santos曾是生物专业的学生，但与细菌打交道让她感到厌倦（Shebegan college as a biology major but found she was “really bored with bacteria）。在听了一堂老年学专业的课以后，她发现那才是她喜欢的。她说，她帮助退休老人做一些志愿工作，并对此感到十分满意。Passage Four Questions 36 to 40 are based on the foll

22、owing passage. The decline in moral standardswhich has long concerned social analystshas at last captured the attention of average Americans. And Jean Bethke Elshtain, for one, is glad. The fact the ordinary citizens are now starting to think seriously about the nations moral climate, says this ethi

23、cs (伦理学) professor at the University of Chicago, is reason to hope that new ideas will come forward to improve it. But the challenge is not to be underestimated. Materialism and individualism in American society are the biggest obstacles. “The thought that Im in it for me has become deeply rooted in

24、 the national consciousness,” Ms. Elshtain says. Some of this can be attributed to the disintegration of traditional communities, in which neighbors looked out for one another, she says. With todays greater mobility and with so many couples working, those bonds have been weakened, replaced by a grea

25、ter emphasis on self. In a 1996 poll of Americans, loss of morality topped the list of the biggest problems facing the U.S. and Elshtain says the public is correct to sense that: Data show that Americans are struggling with problems unheard of in the 1950s, such as classroom violence and a high rate

26、 of births to unmarried mothers. The desire for a higher moral standard is not a lament (挽歌) for some nonexistent “golden age,” Elshtain says, nor is it a wishful (一厢情愿的) longing for a time that denied opportunities to women and minorities. Most people, in fact, favor the lessening of prejudice. Mor

27、al decline will not be reversed until people find ways to counter the materialism in society, she says. “Slowly, you recognize that the things that matter are those that cant be bought.”这篇材料讲的是美国社会的道德衰落问题。第一个小段首先提到社会道德衰落的问题终于受到了普通民众的关注（at last captured the attention of average Americans）。之后的一段则说明了这种

28、现象的出现会带来什么影响：is reason to hope that new ideas will come forward to improve it，意思是普通民众的关注会促进新想法的产生，从而有助于解决道德衰落问题。 然而道德衰落问题的解决绝非说起来那么容易，第三段说明了这里存在的主要障碍是物质主义和个人主义在美国社会的泛滥（Materialism and individualism in American society），专家认为这些思想在美国的国民意识中已经根深蒂固（deeply rooted in the national consciousness）。 那么是什么造成了个人主

29、义的泛滥呢？下一段认为部分原因是传统社区的解体（disintegration of traditional communities）。在传统社区中，邻里邻居会互相关照，而今天，人口流动性大和普遍的双职工现象使人们的联系不再那么紧密（greater mobility and with so many couples working），个人转而受到了更多的重视。 解析完原因之后，作者又把话题转了回来，重新说明开头的论题：美国民众对道德衰落的关注。作者援引1996年的一次问卷调查，指出道德衰落是美国所面临的最大问题，而后借某位专家之口做出评析：民众确实有理由对道德衰落投以关注，因为现在的很多问题，比

30、如班级暴力等在五十年代是闻所未闻的。 下面的一段比较难于理解。The desire for a higher moral standard is not a lament for some nonexistent “golden age”，主语比较简单，指的就是民众对道德提升的要求。Lament是挽歌的意思，nonexistent “golden age”是不存在的黄金时代。可以这么理解，在说话人看来，曾经的道德水平较高的时代并不能算是一个黄金时代，所以称之为nonexistent，而lament for则 意味着这一时代的终结，否则不会出现这个时代的挽歌。总的意思是：民众对道德提升的要求，并

31、不代表一个黄金时代的结束；反过来理解就是，因为过去那个时代 的道德水平较高，可以被某些人看做是黄金时代（在说话人看来不是），而现在民众们都在要求提升社会道德，说明社会道德水平较高的时代已经不存在了。 nor is it a wishful longing for a time that denied opportunities to women and minorities字面意思是“也不是对一个时代的渴望，这个时代没有给女人和少数民族机会。”从这句话可以看出，在过去的那个时代，虽然道德水平较高，但是却存在歧视女性和少数民族的现象，作者认为现在的人们希求的不是那样的一个时代。后面的一句指出，现

32、在的人们希望减少歧视。 材料最后一段指明解决道德衰落问题的基本方向：find ways to counter the materialism in society。最后一句也存在理解问题，You recognize that the things that matter are those that cant be bought，这里需要注意的是matter的意思，matter是不及物动词，其发出者是things，意思是“那些要紧的事情，真正有意义的事情”。Passage One Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage. In the 1960s, medical researchers Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe developed a checklist of stressful events. They appreciated the tricky point that any major change can be stressful. Negative events like “serious illness o