专四阅读详解 四
星期4 Thursday
No thorns , no throne ; no cross, no crown.没有辛劳，何来成功；没有挫折，何来辉煌。
Text A
When television is good, nothing — not the theatre, not the magazines, or newspapers — is better. But when television is bad, nothing is worse. I invite you to sit down in front of your television set when your station goes on the air and stay there without a book, magazine, newspaper, or anything else to distract you and keep your eyes glued to that set until the station signs off. I can assure you that you will observe a vast wasteland. You will see a procession of game shows, violence, audience participation shows, formula comedies about totally unbelievable families, mayhem, more violence, sadism, murder, Western bad men, Western good men, private eyes, gangsters, still more violence and cartoons. And, endlessly, commercials that scream and sweet-talk and offend. And most of all, boredom. True, you will see a few things you will enjoy. But they will be very, very few. And if you think I exaggerate, try it.
Is there no room on television to teach, to inform, to uplift, to stretch, to enlarge the capacities of our children? Is there no room for a children’s news show explaining something about the world for them at their level of understanding? Is there no room for reading the great literature of the past, teaching them the great traditions of freedom? There are some fine children’s shows, but they are drowned out in the massive doses of cartoons, violence, and more violence. Search your conscience and see whether you cannot offer more to your young beneficiaries whose future you guard so many hours each and every day.
You will get no argument from me if you say that, given a choice between a Western and a symphony, more people will watch the Western. I like Westerns and private eyes, too, but a steady diet for the whole country is obviously not in the public interest. We all know that people would more often prefer to be entertained rather than stimulated or informed. But your obligations are not satisfied if you look only to popularity as a test of what to broadcast. You are not only in show business: you are free to communicate ideas as well as give relaxation. You must provide a wider range of choices, more diversity, and more alternatives. It is not enough to cater to the nation’s whims — you must also serve the nation’s needs. The people own the air. They own it as much in prime evening time as they do at 6 o’clock in the morning. For every hour that the people give you, you owe them something. I intend to see that your debt is paid with service.
1. The purpose of the first two sentences in Para. 1 is
[A] to describe television is good enough.
[B] to show television is bad enough.
[C] to arouse reader’ interest in television program.
[D] to lead readers onto the main theme.
2. Why does the author say that people will observe a vast wasteland?
[A] Because a large empty and barren land can be seen in Western countries.
[B] Because the programs on TV are not popular with people.
[C] Because the commercials annoy people greatly.
[D] Because the programs on TV seldom offer anything worthwhile to people.
3. Which of the following is NOT true concerning programs for children?
[A] There are actually no fine shows for children.
[B] Children are exposed to too much violence on TV.
[C] Too many cartoons are provided.
[D] Children’s news shows are usually beyond the ir understanding.
4. According to the author, the broadcasters
[A] should ban mystery programs.
[B] had better mend their ways.
[C] should make decision about programs.
[D] had better regard popularity as a norm of program content.
5. Which of the following is NOT the author’s viewpoint?
[A] The broadcasters achieve great success in holding people’s attention.
[B] The audience themselves tend to prefer relaxation to stimulation.
[C] The broadcasters try to do the right thing but fail.
[D] A really good program should not only entertain people but also communicate ideas.
Text B
Harvard University named historian Drew Gilpin Faust as its first female president on February 11, ending a lengthy and secretive search to find a successor to Lawrence Summers. The seven-member Harvard Corporation elected Faust, a noted scholar of the American South and dean of the Harvard’s Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, as the University’s 28th president.
“This is a great day, and a historic day for Harvard,” James Houghton, chairman of the presidentia l search committee, said in a statement. “Drew Faust is an inspiring and accomplished leader, a superb scholar, a dedicated teacher, and a wonderful human being.” With the naming of Faust, half of the eight Ivy League schools will have a woman as president. Her selection is noteworthy given the uproar over Summers’ comments that genetic differences between the sexes might help explain the dearth of women in top science jobs, comments which sparked debate about the equality at Harvard and nationwide.
Faust has been dean of the Radcliffe since 2001, two years after the former women’s college was merged into the university as a research center with a mission to study gender issues. “No university in the country, even in the world has remarkable a past as Harvar d,” Faust, who has never managed a big organization, said in a statement. “And our shared enterprise is to make Harvard’s future even more remarkable than its past.” The Harvard Crimson, a student newspaper, said in an editorial that Harvard now is at the crossroad and managing much-needed reform will be among Faust’s foremost challenges. In addition to that, Faust will oversee 25,000 employees and ＄3 billion budget with 1.6 million budget, 81 stuff and fewer than 15 faculty members at Radcliffe.
Some professors have quietly groused that —despite the growing centrality of scientific research to Harvard budget —the 371-year-old university is appointing a fifth consecutive president who is not a scientist. No scientist has had the top job since James Bryant Conant retired in 1953; its last four have come from the fields of classics, law, literature and economics.
Faust is the first Harvard president who did not receive an undergraduate or graduate degree from the university since Charles Chauncy, a graduate of Cambridge University in England, who died in office in 1672. She attended Bryn Mawr College and the University of Pennsylvanian, where she is also the professor of history.
“Faculty turned to her constantly as someone whose opinion is to be trusted,” said Shelton Hackney, a former president of the University of Pennsylvania and a southern historian who worked closely with Faust. “She is very clea r, well-organized. She has a sense of humor, but she is very even-keeled. You come to trust in her because she’s so solid.”
6. Feb.11 was a historic day for Harvard in that
[A] the first wonderful female president appeared.
[B] the university ended a lengthy and secretive search to find a successor.
[C] the seven-member Corporation intended to nominate Faust as the president.
[D] the female presidents in the eight Ivy League schools were the same as male ones.
7. The word “dearth” in Para. 2 means
[A] frequency. [B] enough.
[C] insufficiency. [D] vigor.
8. Why did some professors have some complaints about Faust’s nomination?
[A] The proportion of the scientific research is increasing.
[B] They believed a female was not capable of this post.
[C] Faust did not receive degree from this university.
[D] They believed that the president should be a scientist.
9. According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT true?
[A] Faust will face greater challenges after her nomination.
[B] Faust didn’t work in the Harvard University before she was elected to be president.
[C]Faust and Chauncy have studied in the different universities.
[D]Neither Faust nor Chauncy has received degree from the Harvard University.
10. Shelton Hackney held the view that
[A] Drew Faust is an inspiring and accomplished leader.
[B] few women make top scientists owing to genes.
[C] women cannot achieve as much as men in management.
[D] Drew Faust is a reliable person with extraordinary personality charm.
Text C
President Bush and South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun pressed North Korea to rejoin deadlocked talks on its nuclear weapons program and try to minimize their own differences over how hard to push the North Korean government. “South Korea and the United Stat es share the same goal, and that’s a Korean Peninsula without a nuclear weapon,” Bush said with Roh at his side in his Oval Office. Roh, whose government has resisted the tougher approach advocated by the Bush Administration toward ending the deadlock, said he agreed that six-nation talks remain the best way to persuade Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear ambition.
While Bush emphasized the two allies “are of one voice” on the issue, Roh, who is presiding
over a South Korea assertive about its role in the region, raised the issues of remaining differences.
“There are, admittedly, many people who worry about potential discord or cacophony between the two powers of the alliances,” he said through a translator.
Roh opposed military action if diplomacy with North Korea fails. South Korea is also cool to the idea of taking the South Korea standoff to the UN Security Council for possible sanction. South Korea instead is pursuing a policy of engagement with the North and supports a security guarantee or economic incentives to tempt North Korea to return to six-nation talks it has boycotted for nearly a year.
Bush, however, wants South Korea — as well as China — to take a more aggressive position. The president said he had no new inducements for North Korea beyond those offered last June, when the North was told it could get economic and diplomatic benefits once it had verifiably disarmed.
While insisting the U.S. has no intention launching a military strike, Bush has steadfastly refused to take that option off the table. And the Administration is increasingly hinting it is closer to pursuing U.N. sanctions.
North Korea has sent mixed signals whether it will return to negotiations with the other five countries. North Korean diplomats indicated that they were willing to come back, but they set no date. A North Korea official later boasted his country was adding to its nuclear stockpile.
During the Bush-Roh meeting, Bush said five times that Seoul and Washington either “share the same goal” or are speaking with “one voice”.Roh said that “one or two minor issues” between the longtime allies could be worked out “very smoothly”. The South Korean President indicated that he and Bush were on the same page on the “basic principles”.
On North Korea, Roh’s moves to engage — by sending energy and food aid north — contrast with the U.S. approach. The South Korea position reflects its strategic interests. A collapse of its neighbor could send millions of the refugees streaming southward and ravage the South Korea economy. The country also fears a military strike could lead to a devastating second Korean War.
Six-nation talks lasts for a long time. Until now it has not been achieved a unanimous agreement. Each country’s standing point is its national interests. There are variances and conflicts between the nations. To solve this issue is still a long way to go.
11. In Roh’s opinion, what is the best choice to persuade North Korean to abandon its nuclear ambition?
[A] Six-nation talks.
[B] Tougher approaches.
[C] Deadlocked talks.
[D] Second Korean War.
12. Which was NOT the attitude of South Korea if the diplomatic tactics failed?
[A] They were not in favor of military action.
[B] They objected to appealing this issue to the UN Security Council.
[C] They were not inclined to possible sanction against North Korea.
[D] They would give up its engagement policy.
13. “Bush has steadfastly refused to take that option off the table.” in Para.6 means
[A] in some situations, America would probably choose the military action if necessary.
[B] Bush Administration abandoned the military action towards North Korea.
[C] Bush changed his previous attitude and adopted a more moderate way.
[D] Bush Administration had no intention to launch a military action.
14. North Korea’s attitude towards returning to the six-nation talks was
[A] positive. [B] indifferent.
[C] ambiguous. [D] tangible.
15. What would NOT be the consequence if North Korea was trapped in the war？
[A] It would produce thousands of refugees.
[B] America would gain a lot of profit in the war.
[C] The economy in South Korea would be affected.
[D] It would not be in line with the South Korea’s interest.
16. What does this passage mainly talk about?
[A] America and South Korea had common interest on the nuclear issues.
[B] America and South Korea urged North Korea to return to the six-nation talks.
[C] America and South Korea tried their best to narrow the differences on the nuclear issues.
[D] North Korea refused to return to the six-nation talks.
Text D
The period of adolescence, i.e. the period between childhood and adulthood, may be long or short, depending on social expectations and on society’s definition as to what constitutes maturity and adulthood. In primitive societies adolescence is frequently a relatively short period of time, while in industrial society with patterns of prolonged education coupled with laws against child labor, the period of adolescence is much longer and may include most of the second decade of one’s life. Furthermore, the length of the adolescent period and the definition of adulthood status may change in a given society as social and economic conditions change. Examples of this type of change are the disappearance of the frontier in the latter part of the nineteenth century in the United States, and more universally, the industrialization of an agricultural society.
In modern society, ceremonies for adolescence have lost their formal recognition and symbolic significance and there no longer is agreement as to what constitutes initiation ceremonies. Social ones have been replaced by a sequence of steps that lead to increases of recognition and social status. For example, grade school graduation, high school graduation and college graduation constitute such a sequence, and while each step implies certain behavioral change and social recognition, the significance of each depends on the socio-economic status and the educational ambition of the individual. Ceremonies for adolescence have also been replaced by legal definitions of status roles, rights, privileges and responsibilities. It is during the nine years from the twelfth birthday to the twenty-first that the protective and restrictive aspects of childhood and minor status are removed and adult privileges and responsibilities are granted. The twelve-year-old is no longer considered a child and has to pay full fare for train, airplane, theater and movie tickets. Basically, the individual at the age of sixteen loses childhood privileges without gaining certain adult rights which increase his social status by providing him with more freedom and choice. He now can obtain a driver’s license; he can leave public school; and he can work without the restrictions of child labor laws. At the age of eighteen the law provides adult responsibilities as well as rights. The young man can now be a soldier, but he also can marry without parental permissions. At the age of twenty-one the individual obtains his full legal rights as an adult. He now can vote, he can buy liquor, he can enter into financial contracts, and he is entitled to run for public office. No additional basic rights are acquired as a function of age after
majority status has been attained. None of the legal provisions determine at what points adulthood has been reached but they do point out the prolonged period of adolescence.
17. The period of adolescence is much longer in industrial societies because
[A] young people are unwilling to take on social responsibilities of adults.
[B] people achieve physical maturity at a later age in the industrialized society.
[C] more education is provided and laws against child labor are made.
[D] ceremonies for adolescence have lost their formal recognition and symbolic significance.
18. Former social ceremonies that used to mark adolescence have given place to the following EXCEPT
[A] the increase of one’s age.
[B] a series of behavioral changes.
[C] a process of achieving recognition and social status.
[D] legal definitions of status roles, rights, privileges and responsibilities.
19. No one can expect to fully enjoy the adulthood privileges until he is
[A] between twelve and twenty-one years old.
[B] twenty-one years old.
[C] sixteen years old.
[D] eleven years old.
20. The author thinks that in modern society,
[A] one can marry without permission of his parents.
[B] one is considered to have reached adulthood when he has a driver’s license.
[C] one is not free from the restrictions of child labor laws until he can join the army.
[D] the dividing line between adolescence and adulthood no longer exists.
语境词汇
Text A
1. go on the air 开始播送(无线电或电视)节目
2. sign off 停播；停止活动
3. mayhem n.蓄意的破坏（或暴力）行为
4. sadism n.虐待狂
5. private eyes 私家侦探
6. drown out 压过，盖没；赶走，使无家可归
7. beneficiary n.受惠者，受益人
8. show business 娱乐业，演艺生意
9. cater to 满足某种需要或要求；悉心照料
10. whim n.异想天开的念头，冲动
Text B
1. successor to sb./sth. 接替的人或事物，继任者
2. dearth n.缺乏，不足；饥荒
3. spark v.导致；发出火花n.火星
4. grouse v.抱怨，发牢骚n.牢骚；常发牢骚的人
5. consecutive a.连续的
6. even-keeled a.稳定的
Text C
1. Oval Office （美国白宫的）椭圆形办公室，总统办公室
2. cacophony n.不和谐音，不谐调音；刺耳的声音
3. sanction n.制裁；批准；约束力v.认可，准许
4. boycott v.&n. (联合)抵制
5. on the same page 与他人看法一致；在同一页上(进度相同)
6. ravage v.毁坏；蹂躏n.毁坏；毁坏的结果
7. unanimous a.一致同意的，一致通过的
Text D
1. adolescence n.青少年期，青春期，青春
2. frontier n.边界；边缘；[the ~s]未开发领域
3. ceremony n.典礼，仪式
4. initiation n.加入，被接纳；开始，创始
5. grant v.正式或依法给予某物
6. run for 竞选
难句突破
Text A
1. I invite you to sit down in front of your television set when your station goes on the air and stay there without a book, magazine, newspaper, or anything else to distract you and keep your eyes glued to that set until the station signs off.
【分析】复合句。句子结构为I invite you to sit down…and stay there…and keep…，三个并列的不定式结构作宾语补足语，而且后两个省略to。第一个和第三个不定式里都分别嵌套了一个时间状语从句，分别由when和until引导。
【译文】我现在请你坐到你的电视机前，电视台的节目正在播放着，你就一直待在那，没有书、杂志、报纸或任何其他分散你注意力的东西，你的眼睛就一直盯在那台电视机上直到电视台停播为止。
2. Search your conscience and see whether you cannot offer more to your young beneficiaries whose future you guard so many hours each and every day.
【分析】复合句。whether引导的从句做see的宾语，套嵌whose引导的定语从句，修饰young beneficiaries。
【译文】想一想，你是否真的不能为年轻的受益者——那些你每天都要为他们的将来守卫数小时的孩子们——提供更多的东西了。
Text B
1. Her selection is noteworthy given the uproar over Summers’ comments that genetic differences between the sexes might help explain the dearth of women in top science jobs, comments which sparked debate about the equality at Harvard and nationwide.
【分析】复合句。句子主干为Her selection is noteworthy。given引出条件状语，意思是“考虑到，鉴于”。that引导comments的同位语从句。同位语从句后的comments与之前的comments属于复现关系。which引导定语从句，修饰comments。
【译文】福斯特的当选相当引人注目，因为前任校长萨默斯曾发表评论说：性别的遗传差异或许能解释为什么在高端科研工作中女性人数较少。他的言论引发了哈佛乃至全美有关性别平等的辩论，喧嚣尘上，沸沸扬扬。
2. Some professors have quietly groused that —despite the growing centrality of scientific research to Harvard budget —the 371-year-old university is appointing a fifth consecutive
president who is not a scientist.
【分析】复合句。that引导从句，作groused的宾语。despite引导让步状语，作插入语，将引导词that和其后的从句隔开。从句中，who引导定语从句，修饰president。
【译文】哈佛的一些教授对于福斯特的上任稍有微辞，尽管哈佛预算中科研的分量越来越重，但这是这所有371年历史的大学连续第五次任命一位非科学家担任校长之职。
Text C
1. While Bush emphasized the two allies “are of one voice” on the issue, Roh, who is presiding over a South Korea assertive about its role in the region, raised the issues of remaining differences.
【分析】复合句。while引导让步状语从句。who引导定语从句修饰主句主语Roh，assertive about…作后置定语也修饰Roh。
【译文】虽然布什强调两国在此问题上是“用一个声音说话”，观点一致，但卢武铉却提出了双方分歧依旧存在的问题。总统对韩国在本地区事务中的角色非常自信。
2. South Korea instead is pursuing a policy of engagement with the North and supports a security guarantee or economic incentives to tempt North Korea to return to six-nation talks it has boycotted for nearly a year.
【分析】复合句。句子主干结构为South Korea is pursuing…and supports…。and连接两个谓语。of短语作定语，修饰policy。不定式短语to tempt…作目的状语。it has…是省略了关系代词的定语从句修饰six-nation talks。
【译文】韩国一直执行与朝鲜接触的政策，并支持以安全承诺或者经济援助来吸引朝鲜重返六方会谈。朝鲜抵制六方会谈已经近一年了。
Text D
1. The period of adolescence, i.e. the period between childhood and adulthood, may be long or short, depending on social expectations and on society’s definition as to what constitutes maturity and adulthood.
【分析】复合句。句子主干是The period of adolescence may be long or short。the period between childhood and adulthood是the period of adolescence的同位语，depending on…是现在分词短语作原因状语，其中what引导的从句作as to的宾语。
【译文】青少年时期，即童年和成年之间的时期，可长可短，取决于社会期望以及社会如何定义什么是构成成熟和成年的因素。
2. For example, grade school graduation, high school graduation and college graduation constitute such a sequence, and while each step implies certain behavioral change and social recognition, the significance of each depends on the socio-economic status and the educational ambition of the individual.
【分析】并列复合句。本句的基本结构是“简单句+and+复合句”。简单句有三个并列的主语，宾语部分such限定sequence。后面复合句中的while相当于although。
【译文】例如小学毕业，中学毕业和大学毕业就构成这样的步骤，每一步都包含着一定的行为变化和社会认同，但是每一步的意义取决于每个人的社会经济地位以及其对教育的理想。
英语专业四级阅读理解练习四附答案解析
PART Ⅱ READING COMPREHENSION ［25 MIN.］ In this section there are four passages followed by fifteen questions or unfinished statements, each with four suggested answers marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that you think is the correct answer.Mark your choice on your ANSWER SHEET. TEXT A As many as one thousand years ago in the Southwest, the Hopi and Zuni Indians of North America were building with adobe－sun baked brick plastered with mud. Their homes looked remarkably like modern apartment houses. Some were four stories high and contained quarters for perhaps a thousand people, along with storerooms for grain and other goods. These buildings were usually put up against cliffs, both to make construction easier and for defense against enemies. They were really villages in themselves, as later Spanish explorers must have realized since they called them “pueblos”, which is Spanish for town.The people of the pueblos raised what are called “the three sisters”—corn, beans, and squash. They made excellent pottery and wove marvelous baskets, some so fine that they could hold water. The Southwest has always been a dry country, where water is scarce. The Hopi and Zuni brought water from streams to their fields and gardens through irrigation ditches. Water was so important that it played a major role in their religion. They developed elaborate ceremonies and religious rituals to bring rain. The way of life of less settled groups was simpler and more strongly influenced by nature. Small tribes such as the Shoshone and Ute wandered the dry and mountainous lands between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. They gathered seeds and hunted small animals such as small rabbits and snakes. In the Far North the ancestors of today’s Inuit hunted seals, walruses, and the great whales. They lived right on the frozen seas in shelters called igloos built of blocks of packed snow. When summer came, they fished for salmon and hunted the lordly caribou. The Cheyenne, Pawnee, and Sioux tribes, known as the Plains Indians, lived on the grasslands between the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi River. They hunted bison, commonly called the buffalo. Its meat was the chief food of these tribes, and its hide was used to make their clothing and covering of their tents and tipis. 16. What does the passage mainly discuss? A. The architecture of early American Indian buildings. B. The movement of American Indians across North America. C. Ceremonies and rituals of American Indians. D. The way of life of American Indian tribes in early North America. 17. It can be inferred from the passage that the dwellings of the Hopi and Zuni were ___ A. very small B. highly advanced C. difficult to defend D. quickly constructed TEXT B Most earthquakes occur within the upper 15 miles of the earth’s surface. But earthquakes can and do occur at all depths to about 460 miles. Their number decreases as the depth increases. At about 460 miles one earthquake occurs only every few years. Near the surface earthquakes may run as high as 100 in a month, but the yearly average does not vary much. In comparison with the total number of earthquakes each year, the number of disastrous earthquakes is very small.[JP] The extent of the disaster in an earthquake depends on many factors. If you carefully build a toy house with an erect set, it will still stand no matter how much you shake the table. But if you build a toy house with a pack of cards, a slight shake of the table will make it fall. An earthquake in Agadir, Morocco, was not strong enough to be recorded on distant instruments, but it completely destroyed the city. Many stronger earthquakes have done
英语专业四级考试阅读理解考前最后冲刺技巧上
英语专业四级考试阅读理解解题步骤 1．浏览试题，明确目标 在进行阅读之前，首先浏览短文后面的题目。看完试题题干和四个选项后，分析掌握每道试题考查的内容和题型（如是主旨大意题、细节理解题，还是推理分析题等），以便带着问题有目标地阅读短文，按照相应的解题技巧寻找正确答案。 2．略读全文，掌握大意 有效的阅读是先掌握全局，再寻求细节。略读（skimming）又称跳读（reading and skipping）或浏览(glancing)，是一种专门而实用的快速阅读方法，主要特点是选择性地阅读。拿到一篇500字左右的文章时，应先用30秒左右的时间进行略读，其目的一是：以尽可能快的速度获取文章主旨大意或中心思想；二是辨识文章体裁，掌握结构（如果是记叙文，就需要了解故事发生的时间、地点、背景和人物活动等主要线索；如果是议论文，就要弄清文章的中心论点以及论述内容）。略读完成后就去看题干，这时有关文章主旨大意题已经有了答案，而对细节题要根据题目的具体要求回到文章中再进行快速扫读以找到相应的信息。 【真题示例】（2009） Nowadays, a cellphone service is available to everyone, everywhere. Probably thousands of people have already been using it, but I just discovered it, so I’m going to claim it and also name it: Fake Foning. The technology has been working well for me at the office, but there are infinite applications. Virtually in any public space. Say you work at a big university with lots of talky faculty members buzzing about. Now, say you need to use the restroom. The trip down the hall will take approximately one hour, because a person can’t walk into those talky people without getting pulled aside for a question, a bit of gossip, a new read on a certain line of Paradise Lost. So, a cellphone. Any cellphone. Just pick it up. Don’t dial. Just h old that phone to your face and start talking. Walk confidently down the hall engaged in fake conversation, making sure to tailor both the topic and content to the person standing before you whom you are trying to evade. For standard colleague avoidance, I suggest fake chatting about fake business: “Yes, I’m glad you called, because we really need to hammer out the details. What’s that? Yes, I read Page 12, but if you look at the bottom of 4, I think you can see the problem begins
2007英语专业四级阅读理解答案及详解
TEXT A If you like the idea of staying with a family, living in house (guest house 1. 小旅馆2. （大房子旁供客人居住的）客房) might be the answer.[81]Good landladies (a woman from whom you rent a room, a house, etc. 女房东；女地主; a woman who owns or manages a pub or a guest house （酒吧或招待所的）女店主，老板娘)---those who are superb cooks and launderers (洗衣工. thunderer 怒喝的人大声说话的人. blunderer 犯大错的人), are figures as popular in fiction as the bad ones who terrorize（to frighten and threaten people so that they will not oppose something or will do as they are told 恐吓；恫吓；威胁）their guest and overcharge （to make somebody pay too much for something 多收（某人的）钱）them at the slightest opportunity. The truth is probably somewhere between the two extremes. If you are lucky, the food will be adequate, some of your laundry may be done for you and you will have a reasonable amount of comfort and companionship. For the less fortune, house rules may restrict the freedom to invite friends to visit, and shared cooking and bathroom facilities can be frustrating and row-provoking (/ra?/ a serious disagreement between people, organizations, etc. about something 严重分歧；纠纷; a noisy argument between two or more people 吵架；争吵) if tidy and untidy guest (a person who is staying at a hotel, etc. 旅客；房客) are living under the same roof. // [82]The same disadvantages can apply to flat sharing, with the added difficulties that arise from deciding who pays for what, and in what proportion. One person may spend hours on the phone, while another rarely makes calls. If you want privacy with guest, how do you persuade the others to go out; how do you persuade them to leave you in peace, especially if you are student and want to study? [83]Conversely, flat sharing can be very cheap, there will always
专四阅读理解练习
专四阅读理解练习1 As many as one thousand years ago in the Southwest, the Hopi and Zuni Indians of North America were building with adobe－sun baked brick plastered with mud. Their homes looked remarkably like modern apartment houses. Some were four stories high and contained quarters for perhaps a thousand people, along with store rooms for grain and other goods. These buildings were usually put up against cliffs, both to make construction easier and for defense against enemies. They were really villages in themselves, as later Spanish explorers must have realized since they called them "pueblos", which is Spanish for town. The people of the pueblos raised what are called"the three sisters" - corn, beans, and squash. They made excellent pottery and wove marvelous baskets, some so fine that they could hold water. The Southwest has always been a dry country, where water is scarce. The Hopi and Zuni brought water from streams to their fields and gardens through irrigation ditches. Water was so important that it played a major role in their religion. They developed elaborate ceremonies and religious rituals to bring rain. The way of life of less settled groups was simpler and more strongly influenced by nature. Small tribes such as the Shoshone and Ute wandered the dry and mountainous lands between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. They gathered seeds and hunted small animals such as small rabbits and snakes. In the Far North the ancestors of today’s Inuit hunted seals, walruses, and the great whales. They lived right on the frozen seas in shelters called igloos built of blocks of packed snow. When summer came, they fished for salmon and hunted the lordly caribou. The Cheyenne, Pawnee, and Sioux tribes, known as the Plains Indians, lived on the grasslands between the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi River. They hunted bison,
专四阅读详解 2
星期2 Tuesday Happiness is nearly always a rebound from hard work.辛勤工作的报酬几乎总是幸福。 Beauty is a curious phenomenon, one of permeable, shifting boundaries. We may think we understand it, since we sense it effortlessly. In fact, it is a bundle of mysteries researchers are still uncovering. Consider the ancient proverb: beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Until about 30 years ago it seemed too obvious for scientists to bother with. When they finally tested it, their results startled them. On the one hand, the maxim is false. Facial beauty is the same throughout the world. In every tribe and culture, individuals will consider Marilyn Monroe, say, an attractive woman. It goes further. Males can identify good-looking men, and females charming women. Old and young, rich and poor, learned and ignorant, all agree on who is beautiful. So do people of every class and personality type. We don’t learn this response. We’re born with it. In one recent study, babies just 20 hours old recognized attractive faces and preferred them. So beauty is in our DNA. The eye of the beholder doesn’t matter. On the other hand, and this is where it gets interesting, the facial shell is just the foundation of beauty. We see the self in the face, every day, all the time, and we can’t distinguish the two. This blurring means that we gift the attractive with a large number of virtues. They seem more competent, likeable, happier, blessed with better lives and personalities. In one experiment, people predicted happier marriages and better jobs for them, and rated them lower on only one aspect: their caliber as parents. Another study found people consider them more amiable, happy, flexible, pleasure-seeking, serious, candid, outspoken, perceptive, confident, assertive, curious and active. They exert more control over their destiny, subjects felt, while the homely endure the world’s sudden change. It is calle d the “beautiful is good” stereotype, and it grants the attractive a parade of boons. Teachers consider them smarter and give them higher grades. Bosses promote them faster. In one tale in The Thousand and One Nights, a thief steals a coin-bag, and when the victim accuses him, people protest: “No, he’s such a handsome youth. He wouldn’t steal anything!” In fact, attractive people can shoplift with greater ease, since witnesses are less likely to report them. And when they do stand before the court, juries acquit them more readily and judges give them lighter penalties. 1. The proverb “beauty is in the eye of beholder” means [A] that beauty can only be admitted when most people recognize it. [B] whether somebody is beautiful depends on the person who is looking.
英语专业四级英语阅读的技巧
书山有路勤为径，学海无涯苦作舟英语专业四级英语阅读的技巧 一段文章的中心思想常常由主题句(Topic Sentence)表达。主题句常 常位于段首或段尾处，间或出现在段落中间。同样，一篇文章的中心思 想也常常在开始或结尾段点出。因此在阅读中，我们要特别注意文章的 开头或结尾。例四： English is clearly an international language.It is spoken by pilots and airport control operators on all the airways of the world.Over 70 percent of the worlds radio programs are in English. 本段主题句为首句，其后的内容句均说明首句。例五： Some students prefer a strict teacher who tells them exactly what to do.Others prefer to be left to work on their own.Still others like a democratic discussion type of class.No one teaching method can be devised to satisfy all students at the same time. 本段中心思想在结尾句得到体现，它是此段内容的结论。例六： For adults a cold is not that serious.However，this is not the case for children.Cold symptoms in children may be signs of more serious diseases and should be given prompt medical attention. 本段主题句为第二句，因为在however 后面才是作者真正的看 法，并在下文中进一步作了说明。 然而，我们也常常发现，有的主题思想并非直接由一、二个句子 表述，而是在文中间接暗示着。这就需要读者根据文中细节进行概括与 归纳，找出主题思想。 tips:感谢大家的阅读，本文由我司收集整编。仅供参阅！
专四阅读理解
4) For a long time, researchers have tried to nail down just what shapes us--or what, at least, shapes us most. And over the years, they've had a lot of exclamation moments. First it was our parents, particularly our mothers. Then it was our genes. Next it was our peers, who show up last but hold great sway. And all those ideas were good ones--but only as far as they went. Somewhere, there was a sort of temperamental dark matter exerting an invisible gravitational pull of its own. More and more, scientists are concluding that this unexplained force is our siblings. From the time we are born, our brothers and sisters are our collaborators and co-conspirators, our role models and cautionary tales. They are our scolds, protectors, goads, tormentors, playmates, counselors, sources of envy, objects of pride. They teach us how to resolve conflicts and how not to; how to conduct friendships and when to walk away from them. Sisters teach brothers about the mysteries of girls; brothers teach sisters about the puzzle of boys. Our spouses arrive comparatively late in our lives; our parents eventually leave us. Our siblings may be the only people we'll ever know who truly qualify as partners for life. "Siblings," says family sociologist Katherine Conger, "are with us for the whole journey." Within the scientific community, siblings have not been wholly ignored, but research has been limited mostly to discussions of birth order．Older sibs were said to be strivers；younger ones rebels；middle kids the lost souls．The stereotypes were broad，if not entirely untrue，and there the discussion mostly ended． But all that’s changin9．At research centers in the U．S．，Canada，Europe and elsewhere，investigators are launching a wealth of new studies into the sibling dynamic，looking at ways brothers and sisters steer one another int0—or away from--risky behavior how they form a protective buffer(减震器)against family upheaval；how they educate one another about the opposite sex；how all siblings compete for family recognition and come to terms--or blows--over such impossibly charged issues as parental favoritism． From that research，scientists are gaining intriguing insights into the people we become as adults．Does the manager who runs a harmonious office call on the peacemaking skills learned in the family playroom? Does the student struggling with a professor who plays favorites summon up the coping skills acquired from dealing with a sister who was Daddy’s girl? Do husbands and wives benefit from the inter—gender negotiations they waged when their most important partners were their sisters and brothers? All that is under investigation．“Siblings have just been o ff the radar screen until now，”says Conger．But today serious work is revealing exactly how our brothers and sisters influence us．1．The beginning of the passage indicates that A．researchers have found out what shapes us．B．our peer is the last factor influencing us． C．what researchers found contributes in a limited way． D．what researchers found is good and trustworthy．2．In the third paragraph, the author tries to demonstrate that our siblings A．offer us much useful information． B．have great influences on us． C．are the ones who love us completely． D．accompany us throughout our life． 3．In scientific community, previous research on siblings A．mostly focused on the sibling order． B．studied the characteristics of the kids． C．studied the matter in a broad sense． D．wasn’t believable and the discussion ended． 4．Which of the following is NOT sibling dynamic? A．A brother cautions his sister against getting into trouble． B．Sisters have quarrels with each other． C．Siblings compete for parental favoritism． D．Older kids in a family try hard to achieve． 5．From the last paragraph，we can conclude that A．managers learned management skills from the family playroom． B．spouses learned negotiation skills from their siblings． C．studies on siblings are under the way。 D．studies on siblings need thorough investigation． 5) What comes to mind when you hear the word--diversity? Issues of race or gender may spring to mind．Equal rights? Or minority issues? I encourage people to look at a much wider definition of the word．1 would tend to say diversity is “differentness” in any form．A good example of this kind of diversity has been experienced by every person who ever left behind the comforts of home and moved into uncharted territory．Issues of diversity are informed not only by your cultural background and context，but also by your religion，age，field of work，family situation，personality，and countless other factors that make us unique．Diversity affects everyone．
2008年专四阅读详解
PART V READING COMPREHENSION [25 MIN] In this section there are four passages followed by questions or unfinished statements, each with four suggested answers marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that you think is the best answer. Mark your answers on your answer sheet. TEXT A 1 When the sun is up in Amsterdam, the largest city in the Netherlands sits quietly on the Amstel River. You can rent a bicycle, visit the Van Gogh or Anne Frank museum, or take a water taxi. 2 But when the sun goes down, the partying begins. In the big clubs and in coffee shops, tourists gather to hang out, talk politics and smoke. 3 Several areas of the city clearly show the two worlds that rule Amsterdam. And they're all within a short cab ride of each other. 81. At the beginning of the passage, the author indicates that A. Amsterdam is generally known as a quiet city. B. parties go on all day long in Amsterdam, C. Amsterdam presents two different pictures. D. Amsterdam attracts many daytime visitors. Notice the linking word “but” to indicate the contrast “When the sun is up” and “when the sun goes down”. 梵高美术馆或安妮弗兰克博物馆，酒吧和咖啡馆 81. C. (Paras.1~2)可见阿姆斯特丹给人的感觉是，白天夜晚完全不同，故选C。 4 For example, Dam Square attracts daytime sightseers to its festivals, open markets, concerts and other events. Several beautiful and very popular hotels can be found there. And there is the Royal Palace and the Magna Plaza shopping mall. 5 But as evening descends on Dam Square so do the party-seekers. Hip pop or funk music begins blaring嘟嘟声，巨响from Club Paradiso and Club Melkweg. These are two of the most popular clubs in Europe. So if you come, be ready to dance. The clubs don't shut down until 4 am. 82. Which tourist attraction is cited for elaboration in Paragraphs Four and Five? A. Royal Palace. B. Dam Square. 大坝广场 C. Club Paradiso. 天堂篇，神曲中的一篇 D. Magna Plaza. 82. Ｂ. (Paras.4~5) For example, Dam Square attracts daytime sightseers to its festivals, open markets, concerts and other events. But as evening descends on Dam Square so do the party-seekers. 在这两段中，作者着力阐述Dam Square具有两重娱乐性。 6 And while you are there, check out the various inexpensive ways to tour the city. Don't worry about getting lost. Although Dutch is the official language, most people in Amsterdam speak English and are happy to help you with directions. 7 And you'll notice that half the people in the streets are on bicycles. They rent for US$17 to $20 for a whole day. 83. According to the passage, the local people have all the following characteristics EXCEPT A. they are party goers. B. they show hospitality. C. they can speak English. D. they are fond of cycling.