2016年專四英語閱讀練習(含答案

1、(-)People have been painting pictures for at least30,000 years The earliest pictu res were pain ted bypeople who hun ted an imals They used to pain tpictures of the an imals they wan ted to catch and kill.Pictures of this kind have been fou nd on the walls ofcaves in France and Spain. No one knows w

2、hy theywere pai nted there Perhaps the painters thoughtthat their pictures would help them t o catch thesea nimals Or perhaps huma n beings have always wan ted to tell st ories in picturesAbout 5,000 years ago, the Egyptians and other people in the Near East bega n to use picturesas kind of writing.

3、 They drew simple pictures or signs to repr esent things and ideas, and also torepresent the sounds of their bnguage. Th e signs these people used became a kind ofalphabet.The Egyptians used to r ecord information and to tell stories by putting picture writingand pictures tog ethe. When an important

4、 person died, seenes and stories from his life werep ainted and carved on the walls of the place where he was buried Some of the se pictures a relike moder n comic strip stories It has bee n said that Egypt is the home of the comic strip.But, for the Egyptians, pictures still had magic p ower. So th

5、ey did not try to make their way ofwriting simple. The ordinay pe ople could not understand it.By the year 1,000 BC, people who lived in the area around the Mediterranean Sea haddeveloped a simpler system of writing. The signs they used were ver y easy to write, and therewere fewer of them than in t

6、he Egyptian system Th is was because each sign, or letter,represented only one sound in their Iangua ge. The Greeks developed this system and formedthe letters of the Greek alp habet The Roma ns copied the idea, and the Roman alphabet isnow used all over the world.These days, we can write down a sto

7、ry, or record information, without using p ictures But westill need pictures of all kinds: drawing, photographs, signs and diagrams We find themeverywhere: in books and newspapers, in the street, and on the walls of the places where welive and work Pictures help us to und erstand and remember things

8、 more easily, and they can make a story much more interesting.?1. Pictures of animals were pain ted on the walls of caves in France and Spai n because ?.?A. the hun ters wan ted to see the pictures?B. the painters were animal lovers?C. the painters wanted to show imagination?D the pictures were thou

9、ght to be helpful?2. The Greek alphabet was simpler than the Egyptian system for all the foliowing reasonsEXCEPT that ?A. the former was easy to write?B. there were fewer signs in the former?C. the former was easy to pronounce?D. each sign stood for only one sou nd?3. Which of the following statemen

10、ts is TRUE?A. The Egyptian signs later became a particular alphabet.?B. The Egyptians liked to write comic?strip stories.?C. The Roman alphabet was developed from the Egyptian one.?D The Greeks copied their writing system from the Egyptians.?4. In the last paragraph, the author thinks that pictures

11、?.?A. should be made comprehensible?B. should be made interesting?C. are of much use in our life?D. have disappeared from our life參考答案：1. D）根據(jù)文章第一段第五行Perhaps the paintersthought that their pictures would help them to catchthese animals.可知古代人以為在墻上畫畫會對他們有所幫助，故選項D為正確答案。？2. C）在做此類題時要注意題干的要求。通過閱讀文章第四段很淸楚

12、就知道選項C前者 容易發(fā)音在文中沒有提及，故為正確答案 ?3. A）可用排除法來做本題。通過閱讀文章很淸楚選項B和D為錯誤陳述。選項C 羅馬字母是從埃及字母發(fā)展而來的根據(jù)文章第四段第四，五句可知為錯誤論述, 因此只有選項A為正確答案。4. C）文章最后一段講述了圖畫在今天的用途，故選項C為正確答案。（二）As the merchant class expanded in the eighteenth?century North American C olonies, the silversmithand the coppersmith businesses rose to serve it.O

13、nly a few silversmiths were available in New Yokor Boston in the late seventee nth century, but in theeighteenth century they could be found in all majorcolo nial cities No other colonial artisans rivaled thesilversmiths7 prestige They h an died the mostexpensive materials and possessed direct conn

14、ections to pros perous colonial merchants. Theirproducts, primarily silver plates and bowls, re fleeted their exalted status and testified to theircustomers7 prominence. Silve r stood as one of the surest ways to store wealth at a time beforeneighborhoo d banks existed Un like the silver coins from

15、which they were made, silver arti cleswere readily identifiable. Ofte n formed to in dividual specifications, they always carried thesilversmithzs distinctive markings and consequently co uld be traced and retrieved .Customers generally secure the silver for the silv er object they ordered. They sav

16、ed coins, tookthem to smiths, and discussed the type of pieces they desired Silversmiths complied with theserequests by melting the money in a small furnace, adding a bit of copper to form a stron geralloy, and casting the alloy in rectangular blocks They hammered these ingots to theappropriate thic

17、kness by hand, shaped them and pressed desi gns into them for adornment.Engaving was also done by hand. In addition to plates and bowls, some customers soughtmore intricate products, such a s silver teapots These were made by shaping or casting partsseparately and t hen soldering them together Colon

18、ial coppersmith!ng also come of age in the early eighteenth century and prospered in northern cities Coppers ability to conduct heatefficiently and to resist corrosion contributed to its attractive ness But because it wasexpensive in colonial America, coppersmiths were ne ver very numerous. Virtuall

19、y all copperworked by Smiths was imported as sh eets or obtained by recycling old copper goods Copperwas used for practical i terns, but it was not admired for its beauty. Coppersmiths employed it tofashi on pots and kettles for the home They shaped it in much the same mana 3/12s silver ormelted it

20、in a foundry with lead or tin. They also mixed it with zinc to make brass for maritimeand scientific instruments.?1. According to the passage, which of the following eighteenth century develop merits had str on gimpact on silversmiths? ?A. A decrease in the cost of silver. ?B. The invention of heat

21、efficient furnaces?C. The growi ng econo mic prosperity of col on ial mercha nts. ?D. The development of new tools used to shape silver?2In colonial America, where did silversmiths usually obtain the material to make silver articles? ?A. From their own mines. ?B. From importers?C. From other silvers

22、miths?D From customers3. The passage mentions all of the following as uses for copper in Colonial Am erica EXCEPT ?.?A. cooking pots ?B. scientific instruments ?C. musical instruments ?D. maritime instruments4. According to the passage, silversmiths and coppersmiths in colonial America were similar

23、in which of the followi ng ways? ?A. The amount of social prestige they had?B. The way they shaped themetalthey worked with. ?C. The cost of the goods they made?D. The practicality of the goods they made.參考答案：1. C）根據(jù)文章第一句As the merchant classexpanded in the eighteenth?centuy North AmericanC olonies,

24、.可知，隨著在十八世紀的北美殖民地商人階級膨脹起來，也就是說那時的商人 財富有了很大的發(fā)展，銀匠銅匠們有機會發(fā)揮他們的專長了，這與選項C正好相符。？2. D）根據(jù)文章第十四、五行Customers generallysecures .object they ordered They saved coins, took th em to smiths, and.可知顧客要做銀器，首先要積攢銀幣，然后拿到銀匠處加工成他 們想要的形狀。選項D來自客戶與之相符。3. C）文章末尾在提到銅的用途時惟獨沒有提到樂器。？4. B）根據(jù)文章倒數(shù)第四行They shaped it in much the sam

25、e manner as silver or melted it in afoundy with lead or tin z,可知銀匠和銅匠在銀器和銅器的塑型方式上是一樣的，故選項B為正 確答案。（三）Natures Gigantic Snow PloughOn January 10,1962, an enormous piece of glacierbroke away and tumbled down the side of amountain in Peru. A mere seven minutes later, whencascading ice finally came to a s

26、top ten miles down the mountain, it had take n the lives of 4,000 p eople.This disaster is one of the mostudevastatingz,examples of a very common e vent: an avalanche of snow or ice. Because it isextremely cold at very high altitudes, snow rarely melts It just keeps piling up higher andhigher Glacie

27、rs are eventually created when the weight of the snow is so great that the low erlayers are pressed into solid ice. But most avalanches occur long before this happens. As snowaccumulates on a steep slope, it reaches a critical point at which the slightest vibration willsend it sliding into the valle

28、y below.Even an avalanche of light power can be dangerous, but the Peruvian catast rophe wasparticularly terrible because it was caused by a heavy layer of ice It is estimated that the icethat broke off weighed three million tons. As it era shed dow n the steep mountain side like agigantic snow plou

29、gh, it swept up tr ees, boulders and tons of topsoil, and completely crushedand destroyed the six villages that lay in its pathAt present there is no way to predict or avoid such enormous avalariches, but, luckily, theyare very rare. Scientists are constantly studying the smalle r, more comm on aval

30、a riches, to tryto understand what causes them In the f uturez perhaps dangerous masses of snow and icecan be found and removed before they take human lives.?1. The first paragraph catches the readers attention with a ?A. first hand report?B. dramatic description?C. tall tale?D vivid world picture ?

31、2. In this passage devastating means ?A. violently ruinous?B. spectacularly interesting?C. stunning?D unpleasant: ?3. The passage is mostly about ?.?A. avalanchesB. glaciersC. PeruD mountains參考答案：1. A）文章的第一段就像一個新聞報道，報道了在秘魯發(fā)生的雪崩的災難性后果，一下子 就吸引了讀者的注意力。？2. A）根據(jù)語境線索可判斷出詞義為A。?3. A）通讀全文可知，文章主要是講述雪崩的形成。Most

32、 of us are taught to pay attention to what issaidthe words Words do provide us with someinformation, but meanings are deri ved from so many other sources that it would hinder our effective nessas a pa rtner to a relati on ship to rely too heavily onwords alone. Words are used to d escribe only asmal

33、l part of the many ideas we associate with anygiven mes sage Sometimes we can gain insight intosome of those associations if we lis ten for more than words We dont always say what wemean or mean what w e say. Sometimes our words dont mean anything except Im letting offsom e steam I dont really want

34、you to pay close attention to what Tm saying Jus t payattention to what Tm feeling. Mostly we mean several things at once. A person wanting topurchase a house says to the current own er,This step has to be fixed before Ill buy. Theowsays,11 Its bee n like that for years. Actually, the step has nt be

35、en like that for year szbut the unspoken message is:H I dont want to fix it. We put up with it. Why cant you? Thesearch for a mo re expa nsive view of meaning can be developed of exami ning a message in ter ms of who said it, when it occurred, the related conditions or situation, and h ow it was sai

36、d.When a message occurs can also reveal associated meaning. Let us assume two couples doexactly the same amount of kissing and arguing But one coupl e always kisses after anargument and the other couple always argues after a kiss The ordering of the behaviors maymean a great deal more than the fre q

37、uency of the behavior A friends unusually docilebehavior may only be und erstood by noting that it was preceded by situations that required anabnorin al amount of assertiveness Some responses may be directly linked to a dev elopingpattern of responses and defy logic. Foexample, a person who saysNo!

38、to a serials ofcharges like Youre dumb/YouYe lazy, and “Youre dishonest, may also say No! and try tojustify his or her response if the next statement is And youre good looking.We would do well to listen for how messages are presented The words, If sure has been niceto have you over/ can be said with

39、 emphasis and excit ement or ritualistically. The phrase canbe said once or repeated several time s. And the meanings we associate with the phrase willchange accordingly. S ometimes if we say something infrequently it assumes more importance;so metimes the more we say something the less importanee i

40、t assumes7/121. Effective communication isendered possible between two conversing partners, ifA. they use proper words to carry their ideasB. they both speak truly of their own feelings.C. they try to understand each others ideas beyond wordsD. they are capable of associating meaning with their word

41、s2. Im letting off some steam11 in paragraph 1 meansA. Tm just calling your attention.B. fm just kidding.C. Tm just saying the oppositeD. Tm just givi ng off some sou nd.3. The house-owners example shows that he actually meansA. the step has been like that for yearsB. he doesrft think it necessary t

42、o fix the stepC. the condition of the step is only a minor faultD. the cost involved in the fixing should be shared.4.Some responses and behaviors may appear very illogical, but are justifiabl e if.A. linked to an abnormal amount of assertiveness.B. seen as ones habitual pattern of behavioC. taken a

43、s part of an ordering sequence.expressed to a series of charges5.The word ritualistically in the lastparagraphequals something done11/12A. without true intention.B. light-heartedly C. in a way of ceremonyD. with less emphasis.DBABC答案：Migration is usually defined as permanent orsemipermanent change o

44、 f re sidence.This broad definition, of course, would in elude amove across the street or a cross a city. Our concernis with movement between nations, not withintern al mi gratio n within n atio ns, although suchmoveme nts often exceed in ter nati onal movem entsin volume. Today, the motives of peop

45、le who move short dis tances are very s imilar to those ofin ter national migra ntsStude nts of huma n migration speak of push and pull factors, which in flue nee anindividuaTs decision to move from one place to another Push factors are associated with theplace of origin. A push factor can be as sim

46、ple and mi Id a matter as difficulty in fin ding asuitable job, or as traumatic as war, or s ever e famine Obviously, refugees who leave theirhomes with guns pointed at their heads are motivated almost entirely by push factors(although pull fa ctors do in 什uence their choice of destination).Pull fac

47、tors are those associated with the place of destination. Most of thes e are economic,such as better job opportunities or the availability of good Ian d to farm The latter was animportant factor in attracting settlers to the Unit ed States during the 19th century. In general,pull factors add up to an

48、 appar en tly better chanee for a good life and material well?being thanis offered by t h e place of origin. When there is a choice between several attractive poten tial destinations, the deciding factor might be a non?economic consideratio n such as the presenceof relatives, friends, or at least fe

49、llow countrymen air eady establ ished in the new place who arewilling to help the newcomers set tie in. Consider ations of this sort lead to the development ofmigration flow.Besides push and pull factors, there are what the sociologists call intevenin g obstacles Evenif push and/or pull factors are

50、very strong they still may b e outweighed by in terveni ngobstacles, such as the di st a nee of the move, the tr o uble and cost of moving, the difficulty ofentering the new country, and the pro blems likely to be encounteed on arrival.The decision to move is also in flue need by pers onal factors o

51、f the potentia I migra nt. Thesame push?pull factors and obstacles operate d iff ere ntly on dif feent people, sometimesbecause they are at d iff ere nt stages of their lives, o r j ust because of their varying abilities andpersonalities The prospect of pack in g up everything and moving to a new an

52、d perhaps verystrange environine nt may app ear interest! ng and challenging to an un married you ng manand appallingly diffic ult to a slightly older man with a wife and small kids Simila rly, the need to learn a new Ianguage and customs may excite one person an d frighten anotherRegardless of why

53、people move, migration of large numbers of people cause s confl ict. Thellnited States and other western countries have experienced adjustment p roblems with each new wave of immigrants. The n ewest arrival s are usually given the lowest?paid jobs and areresented by native people wh o may have to co

54、mpete with them for those jobs It has usuallytaken several decades for each group to be accepted into the mainstream of society in the hostcountry.?1. The author thinks that pull factors ?.?A. are all related to econo mic con sideratio ns?B. are not as decisive as push factors?C. i nclude a range of

55、 con siderations?D. are more important than push factors ?2. Peoples decisions to migrate might be 泊什uenced by all the following EXCEPT?.?A. personalities?B education?C. marital status?D abilities ?3. The purpose of the passage is to discuss?.?A. the problems of in ter national migra nts?B. the moti

56、ves of in ter national migra nts?C. migration inside the country?D. migration between countries ?1. C）根據(jù)第三段可知pull factors不僅和economicconsiderations有關，還和non?economicconsiderations有關，由此可排除選項A。選項B和D在文中沒有提 及，故只有C為正確答案。？2. B）此題為細節(jié)題。根據(jù)第五段可知惟有education沒有提及。3. B）此題為主旨題。通過閱讀該文可知文章主要是講述促使人們在國際間移民的因素， 這與選項B相符。W

57、hat we know of prenatal development makes allthis attempt made by a mo ther to mold thecharacter of her unborn child by studying poetry, art,or math ematics during pregnancy seem utterlyimpossible. How could such extrein ely complexinfluences pass from the mother to the child? Thereis no connect ion

58、 between their nervous systems.Even the blood vessels of mother and chil d do notjoin directly. An emotional shock to the mother will affect her child, because it changes theactivity of her glands and so the chemistry her blood Any chemical change in the mothersblood will affect the child for better or w orse. But we can not see how a looking formathematics or poetic genius can be