四级阅读理解与作文.doc

1989年1月大学英语四级(CET-4)真题试卷Passage OneQuestions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.More than 30,000 drivers and front seat passengers are killed or seriously injured each year. At the speed of only 30 miles per hour it is the same as falling from a third-floor windows. Wearing a seat belt saves lives; it reduces your chance of death or serious injury by more than half.Therefore drivers or front seat passengers over 14 in most vehicles must wear a seat belt. If you do not, you could be fined up to 50. it will not be up to the drivers to make sure you wear your belt. But it will be the drivers responsibility to make sure that children under 14 do not ride in the front unless they are wearing a seat belt of some kind.However, you do not have to wear a seat belt if you reversing your vehicle; or you are making a local delivery or collection using a special vehicle; or if you have a valid medical certificate which excuses you from wearing it. Make sure these circumstances apply to you before you decide not to wear you seat belt. Remember you may be taken to court for not doing so, and you may be fined if you cannot prove to the court that you have been excused from wearing it.21.This text is taken from _.A) a medical magazineB) a police reportC) a legal documentD) a government information booklet22.Wearing a seat belt in a vehicle _.A) reduces road accidents by more than halfB) saves lives while driving at a speed up to 30 miles per hourC) reduces the death rate in traffic accidentsD) saves more than 15,000 lives each year23.It is the drivers responsibility to _.A) make the front seat passenger wear a seat beltB) make the front seat children under 14 wear a seat beltC) stop children riding in the front seatD) wear a seat belt each time he drives24.According to the text, which of the following people riding in the front dos not have to wear a seat belt?A) Someone who is backing into a parking space.B) Someone who is picking up the children from the local school.C) Someone who is delivering invitation letters.D) Someone who is under 14.25.For some people, it may be better _.A) to wear a seat belt for health reasonsB) not to wear a seat belt for health reasonsC) to get valid medical certificate before wearing a seat beltD) to pay a fine rather than wear a seat beltPassage TwoQuestions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.If you want to stay young, sit down and have a good think. This is the research finding of a team of Japanese doctors, who say that most of our brains are not getting enough exerciseand as a result, we are ageing unnecessarily soon.Professor Taiju Matsuzawa wanted to find out why otherwise healthy farmers in northern Japan appeared to be losing their ability to think and reason at a relatively early age, and how the process of ageing could be slowed down.With a team of colleagues at Tokyo National University, he set about measuring brain volumes of a thousand people of different ages and varying occupations.Computer technology enabled the researchers to obtain precise measurements of the volume of the front and side sections of the brain, which relate to intellect (智能) and emotion, and determine the human character. (The rear section of the brain, which controls functions like eating and breathing, does not contract with age, and one can continue living without intellectual or emotional faculties.)Contraction of front and side partsas cells die offwas observed I some subjects in their thirties, but it was still not evident in some sixty- and seventy-year-olds.Matsuzawa concluded from his tests that there is a simple remedy to the contraction normally associated with ageusing the head.The findings show in general terms that contraction of the brain begins sooner in people in the country than in the towns. Those least at risk, says Matsuzawa, are lawyers, followed by university professors and doctors. White collar workers doing routine work in government offices are, however, as likely to have shrinking brains as the farm worker, bus driver and shop assistant.Matsuzawas findings show that thinking can prevent the brain from shrinking. Blood must circulate properly in the head to supply the fresh oxygen the brain cells need. “The best way to maintain good blood circulation is through using the brain,” he says, “Think hard and engage in conversation. Dont rely on pocket calculators.”26.The team of doctors wanted to find out _.A) why certain people age sooner than othersB) how to make people live longerC) the size of certain peoples brainsD) which people are most intelligent27.On what are their research findings based?A) A survey of farmers in northern Japan.B) Tests performed on a thousand old people.C) The study of brain volumes of different peopleD) The latest development of computer technology.28.The doctors test show that _.A) our brains shrink as we grow olderB) the front section of the brain does not shrinkC) sixty-year-olds have the better brains than thirty-year-oldsD) some peoples brains have contracted more than other peoples29.The word “subjects” in Paragraph 5means _.A) something to be consideredB) branches of knowledge studiedC) persons chosen to be studied in an experimentD) any member of a state except the supreme ruler30.According to the passage, which people seem to age slower than the others?A) Lawyers.B) Farmers.C) Clerks.D) Shop assistants.Passage ThreeQuestions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage.On June 17, 1744, the officials from Maryland and Virginia held a talk with the Indians of the Six Nations. The Indians were invited to send boys to William and Mary College. In a letter the next day the refused the offer as follows:We know that you have a high opinion of the kind of learning taught in your colleges, and that the costs of living of our young men, while with you, would be very expensive to you. We are convinced that you mean to do us good by your proposal; and we thank you heartily. But you must know that different nations have different ways of looking at things, and you will therefore not be offended if your ideas of this kind of education happen not t be the same as yours. We have had some experience of it. Several of our young people were formerly brought up at the colleges of the northern provinces: they were taught all your sciences; but, when they came back to us, they were bad runners, ignorant of every means of living in the woods they were totally good for nothing.We are, however, not the less obliged by your kind offer, though we refuse to accept it; and, to show our grateful sense of it, if the gentlemen of Virginia will send up a dozen of their sons, we will take care of their education, teach them in all we know, and make men of them.31.The passage is about _.A) the talk between the Indians and the officialsB) the colleges of northern provincesC) the educational values of the IndiansD) the problems of the Americans in the mid-eighteenth century32.The Indians chief purpose in writing the letter seems to be to _.A) politely refuse a friendly offerB) express their opinion on equal treatmentC) show their prideD) describe Indian customs33.According to the letter, the Indians believed that _.A) it would be better for their boys to receive some schoolingB) they were being insulted by the offerC) they knew more about science than the officialsD) they had a better way of educating young men34.Different from the officials view of education, the Indians though _.A) young women should also be educatedB) they had different goals of educationC) they taught different branches of scienceD) they should teach the sons of the officials first35.The tone of the letter as a whole is best described as _.A) angryB) pleasantC) politeD) inquiringPassage FourQuestions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage.In what now seems like the prehistoric times of computer history, the earths postwar era, there was quite a wide-spread concern that computers would take over the world from man one day. Already today, less than forty years later, as computers are relieving us of more and more of the routine tasks in business and in our personal lives, we are faced with a less dramatic but also less foreseen problem. People tend to be over-trusting of computers and are reluctant to challenge their authority. Indeed, they behave as if they were hardly aware that wrong buttons may be pushed, or that a computer may simply malfunction (失误).Obviously, there would be no point in investing in a computer if you had to check all its answers, but people should also rely on their own internal computers and check the machine when they have the feeling that something has gone wrong.Questioning and routine double-checks must continue to be as much a part of good business as they were in pre-computer days. Maybe each computer should come with the warning: for all the help this computer may provide, it should not be seen as a substitute for fundamental thinking and reasoning skills.36.What is the main purpose of this passage?A) To look back to the early days of computers.B) To explain what technical problems may occur with computers.C) To discourage unnecessary investment in computers.D) To warn against a mentally lazy attitude towards computers.37.According to the passage, the initial concern about computers was that they might _.A) change our personal livesB) take control of the worldC) create unforeseen problemsD) affect our businesses38.The passage recommends those dealing with computers to _.A) be reasonably doubtful about themB) check all their answersC) substitute them for basic thinkingD) use them for business purposes only39.The passage suggests that the present-day problem with regard to computers is _.A) challengingB) psychologicalC) dramaticD) fundamental40.It can be inferred from the passage that the author would disapprove of _.A) investment in computersB) the use of ones internal computerC) double-check on computersD) complete dependence on computers for decision-making21.D22.C23.B24.A25.B26.A27.C28.D29.C30.A31.C32.A33.D34.B35.C36.D37.B38.A39.B40.D1990年1月大学英语四级(CET-4)真题试卷Passage OneQuestions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.Oceanography has been defined as “The application of all sciences to the study of the sea”.Before the nineteen century, scientists with an interest in the sea were few and far between. Certainly Newton considered some theoretical aspects of it in his writings, but he was reluctant to go to sea to further his work.For most people the sea was remote, and with the exception of early intercontinental travelers or others who earned a living from the sea, there was little reason to ask many questions about it, let alone to ask what lay beneath the surface. The first time that question “What is at the bottom of the oceans?” had to be answered with any commercial consequence was when the laying of a telegraph cable from Europe to America was proposed. The engineers had to know the depth profile (起伏形状) of the route to estimate the length of cable that had to be manufactured.It was to Maury of the US Navy that the Atlantic Telegraph Company turned, in 1853, for information on this matter. In the 1840s, Maury had been responsible for encouraging voyages during which soundings (测声) were taken to investigate the depths of the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Later, some of his findings aroused much popular interest in his book The Physical Geography of the Sea.The cable was laid, but not until 1866 was the connection made permanent and reliable. At the early attempts, the cable failed and when it was taken out for repairs it was found to be covered in living growths, a fact which defied contemporary scientific opinion that there was no life in the deeper parts of the sea.Within a few years oceanography was under way. In 1872 Thomson led a scientific expedition (考察), which lasted for four years and brought home thousands of samples from the sea. Their classification and analysis occupied scientists for years and led to a five-volume report, the last volume being published in 1895.21.The proposal to lay a telegraph cable from Europe to America made oceanographic studies take on _.A) an academic aspectB) a military aspectC) a business aspectD) an international aspect22.It was _ that asked Maury for help in oceanographic studies.A) the American NavyB) some early intercontinental travelersC) those who earned a living from the seaD) the company which proposed to lay an undersea cable23.The aim of the voyages Maury was responsible for in the 1840s was _.A) to make some sounding experiments in the oceansB) to collect samples of sea plants and animalsC) to estimate the length of cable that was neededD) to measure the depths of the two oceans24.“Defied” in the 5th paragraph probably means “_”.A) doubtedB) gave proof toC) challengedD) agreed to25.This passage is mainly about _.A) the beginnings of oceanographyB) the laying of the first undersea cableC) the investigation of ocean depthsD) the early intercontinental communicationsPassage TwoQuestions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.Normally a student must attend a certain number of courses in order to graduate, and each course which he attends gives him a credit which he may count towards a degree. In many American universities the total work for a degree consists of thirty-six courses each lasting for one semester. A typical course consists of three classes per week for fifteen weeks; while attending a university a student will probably attend four or five courses during each semester. Normally a student would expect to take four years attending two semesters each year. It is possible to spread the period of work for the degree over a longer period. It is also possible for a student to move between one university and another during his degree course, though this is not in fact done as a regular practice.For every course that he follows a student is given a grade, which is recorded, and the record is available for the student to show to prospective employers. All this imposes a constant pressure and strain of work, but in spite of this some students still find time for great activity in student affairs. Elections to positions in student organizations arouse much enthusiasm. The effective word of maintaining discipline is usually performed by students who advise the academic authorities. Any student who is thought to have broken the rules, for example, by cheating has to appear before a student court. With the enormous numbers of students, the operation of the system does involve a certain amount of activity. A student who has held one of these positions of authority is much respected and it will be of benefit to him later in his career.26.Normally a student would at least attend _ classes each week.A) 36B) 20C) 12D) 1527.According to the first paragraph an American student is allowed _.A) to live in a different universityB) to take a particular course in a different universityC) to live at home and drive to classesD) to get two degrees from two different universities28.American university students are usually under pressure of work because _.A) their academic performance will affect their future careersB) they are heavily involved in student affairsC) they have to observe university disciplineD) they want to run for positions of authority29.Some students are enthusiastic for positions in student organizations probably because _.A) they hate the constant pressure strain of their studyB) they will then be able to stay longer in the universityC) such positions help them get better jobsD) such positions are usually well paid30.The student organizations seem, to be effective in _.A) dealing with the academic affairs of the universityB) ensuring that the students observe university regulationsC) evaluating students performance by bringing them before a courtD) keeping up the students enthusiasm for social activitiesPassage ThreeQuestions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage.Do you find getting up in the morning so difficult that its painful? This might be called laziness, but Dr. Kleitman has a new explanation. He has proved that everyone has a daily energy cycle.During the hours when you labor through your work you may say that youre “hot”. Thats true. The time of day when you feel most energetic is when your cycle of body temperature is at its peak. For some people the peak comes during the afternoon. For others it comes in the afternoon or evening. No one has discovered why this is so, but it leads to such familiar monologues (自言自语) as: “Get up, John! Youll be late for work again!” The possible explanation to the trouble is that John is at his temperature-and-energy peak in the evening. Much family quarrelling ends when husbands and wives realize what these energy cycles mean, and which cycle each member of the family has. You cant change your energy cycle, but you can learn to make your life fit it better. Habit can help, Dr. Kleitman believes. Maybe youre sleepy in the evening but feel you must stay up late anyway. Counteract (对抗) your cycle to some extent by habitually staying up later than you want to. If our energy is low in the morning but you have an important job to do early in the day, rise before your usual hour. This wont change your cycle, but youll get up steam (鼓起干劲) and work better at your low point.Get off to a slow start which saves your energy. Get up with a leisurely yawn and stretch. Si