英语四级阅读修订稿.doc

英语四级阅读1Nowadays, is it possible to tell a persons class just by looking at him? Physical details _1_ tell us about health, diet and type of work done. A hundred years ago the working class very often lookd unhealthy, small and were either too thin or too fat. The upper classes were often _2_, sporting types who were used to a good diet and looked healthy. Today living and working conditions have improved, and such _3_ would no longer be so true.The clothes people choose to wear, however, do provide information about their _4_. The most obvious way in which is for the amount of money spent on them. Expensive clothes look expensive and show their wearer had money. Clothes can provide other _5_ as well. The upper classes _6_ to be less interested in fashion and wear good quality clothes in non-bright colours, made of natural material like wool, leather or cotton. Lower working class people often choose clothes in bright colours, made of man-made material. A sociological explanation for this would be that color and interest are mssing from their lives, and therefore any opportunity to introduce this is _7_.Clothes are _8_ at a price within most peoples reach. New clothes make the wearer feel good, and show some _9_ of wealth to the outside world. Today some new fashions are started by the lower working class people who want to look _10_ and feel important. They want people to look at them.A) availableB) backgroundC) differentD) tallE) totallyF) takenG) descriptionsH) degreeI) cluesJ) aloneK) appearL) considerM) fullN) hobbyO) fetched英语四级阅读2Ive been writing for most of my life. The book Writing Without Teachers introduced me to one distinction and one practice that has helped my writing processes tremendously. The distinction is between the creative mind and the critical mind. While you need to employ both to get to a finished result, they cannot work in parallel no matter how much we might like to think so.Trying to criticize writing on the fly is possibly the single greatest barrier to writing that most of us encounter. If you are listening to that 5th grade English teacher correct your grammar while you are trying to capture a fleeting (稍纵即逝的) thought, the thought will die. If you capture the fleeting thought and simply share it with the world in raw form, no one is likely to understand. You must learn to create first and then criticize if you want to make writing the tool for thinking that it is.The practice that can help you past your learned bad habits of trying to edit as you write is what Elbow calls “free writing.” In free writing, the objective is to get words down on paper non-stop, usually for 15-20 minutes. No stopping, no going back, no criticizing. The goal is to get the words flowing. As the words begin to flow, the ideas will come from the shadows and let themselves be captured on your notepad or your screen.Now you have raw materials that you can begin to work with using the critical mind that youve persuaded to sit on the side and watch quietly. Most likely, you will believe that this will take more time than you actually have and you will end up staring blankly at the pages as the deadline draws near.Instead of staring at a blank start filling it with words no matter how bad. Halfway through you available time, stop and rework your raw writing into something closer to finished product. Move back and forth until you run out of time and the final result will most likely be far better than your current practices.57. When the author says the creative mind and the critical mind “cannot work in parallel” (Line 4, Para. 1) in the writing process, he means _.A) no one can be both creative and criticalB) they cannot be regarded as equally importantC) they are in constant conflict with each otherD) one cannot use them at the same time58. What prevents people from writing on is _.A) putting their ideas in raw formB) attempting to edit as they writeC) ignoring grammatical soundnessD) trying to capture fleeting thoughts59. What is the chief objective of the first stage of writing?A) To organize ones thoughts logically. B) To choose an appropriate topic.C) To get ones ideas down.D) To collect raw materials.60. One common concern of writers about “free writing” is that _.A) it overstresses the role of the creative mindB) it takes too much time to edit afterwardsC) it may bring about too much criticismD) it does not help them to think clearly61. In what way does the critical mind help the writer in the writing process?A) It refines his writing into better shape.B) It helps him to come up with new ideas.C) It saves the writing time available to him.D) It allows him to sit on the side and observe.英语四级阅读3Many a young person tells me he wants to be a writer. I always _1_ such people, but I also explain that theresa big difference between being a writer and writing. In most cases these individuals are dreaming of _2_ and fame, notthe long hours alone at a typewriter. Youve got to want to write, I say to them, not want to be a writer.The reality is that writing is a _3_, private and poor-paying affair. For every writer kissed by fortune there arethousands more whose longing is never _4_. When I left a 20-year career in the US. Coast Guard to become a freelancewriter(自由撰稿人), I had no _5_ at all. What I did have was a friend who found me my room in a New York apartment building. It didnt even matter that it was _6_and had no bathroom. I immediately bought a used manual typewriter and feltlike a _7_ writer.After a year or so, however, I still hadnt gotten a break and began to _8_ myself. It was so hard to sell a storythat _9_ made enough to eat. But I knew I wanted to write. I had dreamed about it for years. I wasnt going to be one ofthose people who die wondering, what if? I would keeo putting my dream to the test-even though it meant living with _10_and fear of failure. This is the Shadow land of hope, and anyone with a dream learn to live there.A) barelyB) genuineC) rewardedD) doubtE) lonelyF) povertyG) persuadeH) prospectsI) uncertaintyJ)impossiblyK) encourageL)awardedM) aloneN)wealthO)cold英语四级阅读4I dont ever want to talk about being a woman scientist again. There was a time in my life when people asked constantly for stories about what its like to work in a field dominated by men. I was never very good at telling those stories because truthfully I never found them interesting. What I do find interesting is the origin of the universe, the shape of space-time and the nature of black holes.At 19, when I began studying astrophysics, it did not bother me in the least to be the only woman in the classroom. But while earning my Ph.D. at MIT and then as a post-doctor doing space research, the issue started to bother me. My every achievementjobs, research papers, awardswas viewed through the lens of gender (性别) politics. So were my failures. Sometimes, when I was pushed into an argument on left brain versus (相对于) right brain, or nature versus nurture (培育), I would instantly fight fiercely on my behalf and all womankind.Then one day a few years ago, out of my mouth came a sentence that would eventually become my reply to any and all provocations: I dont talk about that anymore. It took me 10 years to get back the confidence I had at 19 and to realize that I didnt want to deal with gender issues. Why should curing sexism be yet another terrible burden on every female scientist? After all, I dont study sociology or political theory.Today I research and teach at Barnard, a womens college in New York City. Recently, someone asked me how may of the 45 students in my class were women. You cannot imagine my satisfaction at being able to answer, 45. I know some of my students worry how they will manage their scientific research and a desire for children. And I dont dismiss those concerns. Still, I dont tell them “war” stories. Instead, I have given them this: the visual of their physics professor heavily pregnant doing physics experiments. And in turn they have given me the image of 45 women driven by a love of science. And thats a sight worth talking about.62. Why doesnt the author want to talk about being a woman scientist again?A) She feels unhappy working in male-dominated fields.B) She is fed up with the issue of gender discrimination.C) She is not good at telling stories of the kind.D) She finds space research more important.63. From Paragraph 2, we can infer that people would attribute the authors failures to _.A) the very fact that she is a womanB) her involvement in gender politicsC) her over-confidence as a female astrophysicistD) the burden she bears in a male-dominated society64. What did the author constantly fight against while doing her Ph.D. and post-doctoral research?A) Lack of confidence in succeeding in space science.B) Unfair accusations from both inside and outside her circle.C) Peoples stereotyped attitude toward female scientists.D) Widespread misconceptions about nature and nurtured.65. Why does the author feel great satisfaction when talking about her class?A) Female students no longer have to bother about gender issues.B) Her students performance has brought back her confidence.C) Her female students can do just as well as male students.D) More female students are pursuing science than before.66. What does the image the author presents to her students suggest?A) Women students neednt have the concerns of her generation.B) Women have more barriers on their way to academic success.C) Women can balance a career in science and having a family.D) Women now have fewer problems pursuing a science career.英语四级阅读5Our quarrel with efficiency is not that it gets things done, but that it is a thief of time when it leaves us no leisure to enjoy ourselves, and that it strains our nerves when we try to get things done perfectly. In building bridges, American engineers calculate so finely and exactly as to make the two ends come together within one-tenth of an inch. But when two Chinese begin to dig a tunnel from both sides of a mountain both come out on the other side. -The Chineses firm belief is that it doesnt matter so long as a tunnel is dug through, and if we have two instead of one, why, we have a double track to boot.The pace of modern industrial life forbids this kind of glorious and magnificent idling. But, worse than that, it imposes upon us a different conception of time as measured by the clock and eventually turns the human being into a clock himself. (This sort of thing is bound to come to China, as is evident, for instance, in the case of a factory of twenty thousand worker. The luxurious prospect of twenty thousand workers coming in at their own sweet pleasure at all hours is, of course, somewhat terrifying.)Nevertheless, such efficiency is what makes life so hard and full of excitement. A man who has to be punctually at a certain place at five oclock has the whole afternoon from one to five ruined for him already. Every American adult is arranging his time on the pattern of the schoolboy - three oclock for this, five oclock for that, six-thirty for change of dress, six-fifty for entering the taxi, and seven oclock for arriving at the destination. It just makes life not worth living.1. The writer objects to efficiency mainly on the grounds that it _. A) entitles us to too much leisure timeB) urges us to get things done punctually C) deprives us of leisure time D) imposes on us a perfect concept of time2. In the eyes of the author, the introduction of industrial life gives rise to _. A) the excitement of lifeB) magnificent idling of time C) more emphasis on efficiencyD) terrifying schoolboy3. The passage tells us _. A) Chinese workers come to work when it is convenient B) all Americans are forced to be efficient against their will C) Chinese engineers are on better terms with the management D) Americans ought not to work so hard for efficiency4. The author believes that relaxing the rule of punctuality in factories would lead to _. A) great confusionB) increased production C) a hard and exciting lifeD) successful completion of a tunnel5. What is implied but NOT stated by the author is that _. A) every American is arranging his time in the pattern of a schoolboy B) every American is reluctant to be efficient C) every one should have some time to spend as he pleases D) being punctual is an undesirable habit which should not be formed英语四级阅读6What is it about Americans and food? We love to eat, but we feel _1_ about it afterward. We say we want only the best, but we strangely enjoy junk food. Were_2_with health and weight loss but face an unprecedented epidemic of obesity(肥胖). Perhaps the_3_ to this ambivalence(矛盾情结) lies in our history. The first Europeans came to this continent searching for new spices but went in vain. The first cash crop(经济作物) wasnt eaten but smoked. Then there was Prohibition, intended to prohibit drinking but actually encouraging more _4_ ways of doing itThe immigrant experience, too, has been one of inharmony. Do as Romans do means eating what “real Americans” eat, but our nations food has come to be _5_ by importspizza, say, or hot dogs. And some of the countrys most treasured cooking comes from people who arrived here in shackles.Perhaps it should come as no surprise then that food has been a medium for the nations defining struggles, whether at the Boston Tea Party or the sit-ins at southern lunch counters. It is integral to our concepts of health and even morality whether one refrains from alcohol for religious reasons or evades meat for political_6_.But strong opinions have not brought _7_ . Americans are ambivalent about what they put in their mouths. We have become _8_ of our foods, especially as we learn more about what they contain.The _9_ in food is still prosperous in the American consciousness. Its no coincidence, then, that the first Thanksgiving holds the American imagination in such bondage(束缚). Its what we eatand how we _10_ it with friends, family, and strangersthat help define America as a community today.A. answer I. creativeB. result J. beliefC. share K. suspiciousD. guilty L. certaintyE. constant M. obsessedF. defined N. identifyG. vanish O. idealsH. adapted英语四级阅读7On average, American kids ages 3 to 12 spent 29 hours a week in school, eight hours more that they did in 1981. They also did more household work and participated in more of such organized activities as soccer and ballet (芭蕾舞). Involvement in sports, in particular, rose almost 50% from 1981 to 1997: boys now spend an average of four hours a week playing sports; girls log hall that time. All in all, however, childrens leisure time dropped from 40% of the day in 1981 to 25%“Children are affected by the same time crunch (危机) that affects their parents,” says Sandra Hofferth, who headed the recent study of childrens timetable. A chief reason, she says, is that more mothers are working outside the home. (Nevertheless, children in both double-income and “male breadwinner” households spent comparable amounts of time interacting with their parents 19 hours and 22 hours respectively. In contrast, children spent only 9 hours with their single mothers.)All work and no play could make for some very messed-up kids. “Play is the most powerful way a child explores the world and learns about himself,” says T. Berry Brazelton, professor at Harvard Medical School Unstructured play encourages independent thinking and allows the young to negotiate their relationships with their peers, but kids ages 3 to 12 spent only 12 hours a week engaged in it.The children sampled spent a quarter of their rapidly decreasing “free time” watching television. But that, believe it or not, was one of the findings parents might regard as good news. If theyre spending less time in front of the TV set, however, kids arent replacing it with reading. Despite efforts to get kids more interested in books, the children spent just over an hour a week reading. Lets face it, whos got the time?21. By mentioning “the same time crunch” (Line 1, Para. 2) Sandra Hofferth means _.A) children have little time to play with their parentsB) children are not taken good care of by their working parentsC) both parents and children suffer from lack of leisure timeD) both parents and children have trouble managing their time22. According to the author, the reason given by Sandra Hofferth for the time crunch is _.A) quite convincingB) partially trueC) totally groundlessD) rather confusing23. According to the author a child develops better if _.A) he has plenty of time reading and studyingB) he is left to play with his peers in his own wayC) he has more time participating in school activitiesD) he is free to interact with his working parents24. The author is concerned about the fact that American kids _.A) are engaged in more and more structured activitiesB) are increasingly neglected by their working mothersC) are spending more and more time watching TVD) are involved less and less in household work25. We can infer from the passage that _.A) extracurricular activities promote childrens intelligenceB) most children will turn to reading with TV sets switched offC) efforts to get kids interested in reading have been fruitfulD) most parents believe reading to be beneficial to children英语四级阅读8American