四级阅读理解及答案.doc

Passage 1 By the time the Olympics begin in Atlanta this summer, the business world will have spent more than $ 1 billion to link their names and products to the Olympic Games. There are 10 Worldwide Sponsors, 10 Centennial Olympic Partners, about 20 regular sponsors and more than a hundred licensees. The Atlanta Games will boast an “official scouring pad and timepiece, two official game shows, and three official vehicles: a family car, an import minivan and a luxury sedan. But what exactly do these companies reap for their huge investment? At the very least, they command tickets to the most popular events, invitations to the best parties and prime hotel rooms. But most of all, according to US Postal Service, it is purchasing the right to spend money. And the right to spend money is expensive. The biggest backers, Olympic sponsors like Anheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola, Mcdonalds and Xerox, commit up to $ 40 million. But, getting the rights to the Olympic rings is only half the battle. The other half is the challenge to sort of wrap their product brands around that image. Often that means TV time. And at roughly $ 400 000 per 30-second spot, some of the biggest sponsors have already locked up every commercial slot in their product categories that NBC has to sell. Not everyone is convinced that the Games are worth the price of business admission. The biggest and most conspicuous naysayer is Nike. Its spokesman says:“If I see a Reebok official who may not be in the best shape firing the starting pistol and Carl Lewis wearing Nike shoes, Im going to go with Carl because thats the authentic link. Nikes strategy is hard to argue with - instead of sponsoring the Olympics, it sponsors Olympians. Yet even Nike wants a piece of the Atlantic action. Along with some other nonsponsors, Nike is trying to dot downtown Atlanta with billboards. Advertisement, its another Olympic event. 1. By “official vehicles, the author means . A. automobiles for Olympic officials B. automobiles used in official occasion C. automobiles that the Olympic participants must drive D. automobiles that allowed to bear the Olympic symbol 2. Which of the following is not an Olympic sponsor? A. US Postal Service. B. Nike. C. Coca-Cola. D. Mcdonalds 3. The last sentence of this passage indicates . A. businesses trying to get publicity is a part of the Olympic Games B. what the Olympic non-sponsors do is of no interest to the Olympic organizers C. that businesses must try very hard to earn money from the Olympic Games as if they were themselves competing in the Games D. that those who fail to sponsor the Olympics this time will try very hard the next time 4. Which of the following is NOT implied in the passage ? A. Companies use their Olympic sponsorship to promote sales of their products. B. To provide sportswear for Carl Lewis is a more effective advertisement than to provide suits for Olympic officials. C. NBC makes great profits from selling advertising time to companies eager to impress potential customers during the Olympic Games. D. Nike looks down upon the Olympic Games. 5. Which of the following can best sum up the passage? A. Businesses want to profit from the Olympics. B. The 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. C. The Olympic sponsorship. D. Importance of the Olympic Games. Passage 2 Halloween(October 31) This is a holiday widely celebrated with different names in many countries. Although it originated as a religious holiday, it has lost its religious connections in the United States. It is now celebrated largely as a childrens day, and many American children look forward to it for days and weeks beforehand. The orange pumpkin is harvested at this time of year and is hollowed out, a funny face cut into it, and a candle placed inside as a decoration in the window. City folks, nowadays, sometimes use paper pumpkins for decorations. Some years ago, the holiday was celebrated by dressing up in strange and frightening costumes and playing tricks on ones neighbors and friends, such as ringing door bells, throwing bits of corn on the window panes, and in other ways making minor disturbances. More recently, children come to the door to have friends and neighbors admire their costumes and guess who they are behind the false faces and receive treats of candy, fruit or cookies. They say, “Trick or Treat, meaning, “I will play a trick on you will not give me a treat. This practice has even more recently developed into a significant international activity. Instead of or along with candy, the children collect money for UNICEF (United Nations International Childrens Emergency Fund). This special collection of money by children for needy children throughout the world is known as “UNICEF Trick of Treat. Begun only recently, it results in several million dollars each year contributed to UNICEF. The collection box is orange, reminiscent of the pumpkin. 6. What cloes Holloween originate from? A. a chilolrens day B. a trick or treat C. a religious day D. a day for UNI CEF 7. Which of the following is not mentioned some years ago how the children celebrate the Halloween? A. Dressing up in strange and frightening costumes and playing tricks on ones neighbors friends. B. Ringing door bells. C. Throwing bits of corn on the window panes. D. Dressing up in the best holiday clothes. 8. Which of the following is not used in the Halloween celebration? A. Pumpkin B. Candle C. Costume D. Flower 9.Why do the children collect money in the Halloween? A. They love money. B. They want to get enough money to buy themselves candy. C. The adults are willing to give them money. D. They want to help other children. 10. What is the symbol of Halloween? A. Pumpkin. B. Candle. C. Laughter D. Money. Passage 3 International airlines have rediscovered the business travelers, the man or woman who regularly jets from country to country as part of the job. This does not necessarily mean that airlines ever abandoned their business travelers. Indeed, companies like Lufthansa and Swissair would rightly argue that they have always catered best for the executive class passengers. But many lines could be accused of concentrating too heavily in the recent past on attracting passengers by volume, often at the expense of regular travelers. Too often, they have seemed geared for quantity rather than quality. Operating a major airline in the 1980s is essentially a matter of finding the right mix of passengers. The airlines need to fill up the back end of their wide-bodied jets with low fare passengers, without forgetting that the front end should be filled with people who pay substantially more for their tickets. It is no coincidence that the two major airline bankruptcies in 1982 were among the companies specializing in cheap flights. But low fares require consistently full aircraft to make flights economically viable, and in the recent recession the volume of traffic has not grown. Equally the large number of airlines jostling for the available passengers has created a huge excess of capacity. The net result of excess capacity and cut-throat competition driving down fares has been to push some airlines into collapse and leave many others hovering on the brink. Against this grim background, it is no surprise that airlines are turning increasingly towards the business travelers to improve their rates of return. They have invested much time and effort to establish exactly what the executive demands for sitting apart from the tourists. High on the list of priorities is punctuality; an executives time is money. In-flight service is another area where the airlines are jostling for the executives attention. The free drinks and headsets and better food are all part of the lure. 11. One criticism against many international airlines is that they have, in the recent past, . A. catered for the more wealthy people B. given preferential treatment to executive clients C. only met the needs of the regular traveler D. marketed their service with the masses in mind 12. With the intention of attracting a somewhat different type of passenger, the airlines have now begun to concentrate on . A. ensuring that the facilities offered to the executive are indeed superior B. providing facilities enabling business travelers to work on board C. organizing activities in which first-class passengers can participate D. installing sleeping compartments where more privacy is ensured 13. From the passage we can infer that . A. a successful airline in the 1980s meets the needs not only of the masses but also of the wealthy passengers B. it is more comfortable to sit in the back of jet planes C. business travelers dislike tourists D. only by specializing in cheap flights can airlines avoid bankruptcy. 14. In Paragraph 5. “in-flight service means . A. Service on the plane B. A new safety device C. Flights within one country D. Charge-free air service 15. The following are all used to attract passengers except . A. punctuality B. sound system C. free drinks D. charge-free food Passage 4 In only two decades Asian-American have become the fastest-growing US minority. As their children began moving up through the nations schools, it became clear that a new class of academic achievers was emerging. Their achievements are reflected in the nations best universities, where mathematics, science and engineering departments have taken on a decidedly Asian character. (This special liking for mathematics and science is partly explained by the fact that Asian-American students who began their education abroad arrived in the U.S. with a solid grounding in mathematics but little or no knowledge of English.) They are also influenced by the promise of a good job after college. Asians feel there will be less unfair treatment in areas like mathematics and science because they will be judged more immediate in something like engineering than with an arts degree. Most Asian-American students owe their success to the influence of parents who are determined that their children take full advantage of what the American educational system has to offer. An effective measure of parental attention is homework. Asian parents spend more time with their children than American parents do, and it helps. Many researchers also believe there is something in Asian culture that breeds success, such as ideals that stress family values and emphasize education. Both explanations for academic success worry Asian-Americans because of fears that they feed a typical racial image. Many can remember when Chinese, Japanese and Filipino immigrants were the victims of social isolation. Indeed, it was not until 1952 that laws were laid down giving all Asian immigrants the right to citizenship. 16. While making tremendous achievements at college, Asian-American students . A. feel they are mistreated because of limited knowledge of English. B. are afraid that their academic successes bear a strong Asian character C. still worry about unfair treatment in society D. generally feel it a shame to have to depend on their parents 17. What are the major factors that determine the success of Asian-Americans? A. A solid foundation in basic mathematics and Asian culture. B. Hard work and intelligence. C. Hard help and a limited knowledge of English D. Asian culture and the American educational system. 18. Few Asian-American students major in human sciences mainly because . A. their English is not good enough. B. they are afraid they might meet with unfair judgment in these areas C. there is a wide difference between Asian and Western cultures D. they know little about American culture and society 19. Why do the two “explanations (Para. 3, Line 1) worry Asian-Americans? A. They are afraid that they would again be isolated from American society in general. B. People would think that Asian students rely on their parents for success. C. Asian-Americans would be a threat to other minorities. D. American academic achievements have taken on too strong at Asian character. 20. The authors tone in this passage is . A. sympathetic B. doubtful C. critical D. objectiveassage 1 Mrs. Lester kept on asking her husband to take her to the ballet. Mr. Lester hates the ballet, but when his employer invited him and his wife, he could not get out of it. As they drove to the theatre that evening, the fog got worse and worse. The traffic slowed down to a walking pace and almost stopped. When they eventually got to the theatre, the ballet was over. Mrs. Lester could not work out how it had taken them so long to get there, even taking the fog into account. The theatre was within walking distance of their house. It took her a long time to get over the disappointment. A month later, Mrs. Lester found out what had happened. Mr.Lester told a friend of his that he had taken wrong turning on purpose. This friend told his wife, and the wife immediately went around to tell Mrs. Lester. The two women began to plan a revenge. One day, when Mr. Lester was not in, they broke into his study, which he always locked. His hobby was collecting old coins. Mrs. Lester had already worked out how much his collection was worth:$850!They were taking some coins out of the case when they heard a car pull up outside the house. Mrs. Lester quickly switched the light off, and they waited, holding their breath. The front door opened and Mr. Lester came in. They heard him take hisc oat off. He walked towards the study door and opened it. There was no chance for the women to get away without being seen. Mr. Lester switched the light on and was astounded to see his wife standing there with a handful of valuable coins. It took both husband and wife a long time to get over this. 1. Which of the following is correct? A. Mr. Lester likes to watch ballet. B. Mrs. Lester likes to watch ballet.C. Both of them like to watch ballet D. Neither of them likes to watch ballet. 2. It was quite when they drove to the theatre. A. rainy B. stormy C. cloudy D. foggy 3. The theater is from Mr. and Mrs. Lesters. A. an hour-driving B. in the other side of the city C. very near D. half an hour of bicycle riding 4. The wife of Mr. Lesters friend is a . A. social worker B. house cleaner C. baby sitter D. gossip 5. How many persons are mentioned in this story? A. Three B. Four C. Five D. Six. Passage 2 The motor vehicle has killed and disabled more people in its brief history than any bomb or weapon ever invented. Much of the blood on the street flows essentially from uncivil behavior of drivers who refuse to respect the legal and moral rights of others. So the massacre on the road may be regarded as a social problem. In fact, the enemies of society on wheels are rather harmless people just ordinary people acting carelessly, you might say. But it is a principle both of law and common morality that carelessness is no excuse when ones actions could bring death or damage to others. A minority of the killers go even beyond carelessness to total negligence. Researchers have estimated that as many as 80 per cent of all automobile accidents can be attributed to the psychological condition of the driver. Emotional upsets can distort drivers reactions, slow their judgement, and blind them to dangers that might otherwise be evident. The experts warn that it is vital for every driver to make a conscious effort to keep ones emotions under control. Yet the irresponsibility that accounts for much of the problem is not confined to drivers. Street walkers regularly violate traffic regulations, they are at fault in most vehicle walker accidents; and many cyclists even believe that they are not subject to the basic rules of the road. Significant legal advances have been made towards safer driving in the past few years. Safety standards for vehicle have been raised both at the point of manufacture and through periodic road-worthiness inspections. In addition, speed limits have been lowered. Due to these measures, the accident rate has decreased. But the accident experts still worry because there has been little or no improvement in the way drivers behave. The only real and lasting solution, say the experts, is to convince people that driving is a skilled task requiring constant care and concentration. Those who fail to do all these things present a threat to those with whom they share the road. 6. What is the authors main purpose in writing the passage? A. To show that the motor vehicle is a very dangerous invention. B. To promote understanding between careless drivers and street walkers. C. To discuss traffic problems and propose possible solutions. D. To warn drivers of the importance of safe driving. 7. According to the passage, traffic accidents may be regarded as a social problem because . A. autos have become most destructive to mankind B. people usually pay little attention to law and morality C. civilization brings much harm to people D. the lack of virtue is becoming more severe 8. Why does the author mention the psychological condition of the driver in Paragraph Three? A. To give an example of the various reasons for road accidents. B. To show how important it is for drivers to be emotionally healthy. C. To show some of the inaccurate estimations by researchers. D. To illustrate the hidden tensions in the course of driving. 9. Who are NOT mentioned as being responsible for the road accidents? A. Careless bicycle-riders. B. Mindless people walking in the street. C. Irresponsible drivers. D. Irresponsible manufactures of automobiles. 10. Which of the following best reflects the authors attitude toward a future without t