大学英语四级阅读-13

1、大学英语四级阅读-13(总分：100.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、PartIReading Comprehension(总题数：0，分数：0.00)二、Section A (总题数：2，分数：20.00)Searching for love is no longer just a favorite subject for songs. It has also become a huge industry. Experts say that theindustry has grown because traditional social ties in the United States h

2、ave(1). Many young people leave behind a close community of friends and family to find work in bigger cities. Peoplework longer hours, so they have less time to meet new people. So they depend (2) on technology.This helps explain the (3) of online dating. Some estimates say 120,000 marriages a year

3、result from (4) made on theInternet.The dating industry has also been expanding in new and interesting ways. Many companies around the country offer (5)services for findingthe perfect mate. These companies are answering a largedemandby single people. They are willingto (6) their time and money to fi

4、nd love with (7) plannedmethods, instead of leaving love to chance.For example, in Virginia, the company True Life Partners provides a (8) but detailed dating service. The companysowner, Stephanie Rockey, says her customers are busy professionals who do not have time to search for their lifepartner.

5、 Customers hire Miz Rockeys team of (9) experts to help them find people they will like based on detailedinformation they provide about themselves.The company says it is a team of professional personal (10) who help couples meet. But this level of attention comes ata high price. Men pay thousands of

6、 dollars for the service. But women get to take part at no cost.A. carefully B. inquire C. personalized D. investE. notified F. recruiters G. matches H. increasinglyI. desperate J. costly K. restraint L. popularityM. weakened N. shortly O. trained(分数：10.00)填空项 1:_ (正确答案：M)解析：此处应为动词的过去分词，与have 构成现在完成

7、时。从该段第2、3 句描述的美国年轻人的生活习惯可以推断此处填写 weakened 最为合适。填空项 1:_ (正确答案：H)解析：此处应为副词。该段前几句提到美国年轻人因为工作忙很少有时间结交新朋友，这就致使他们对互 联网的依赖性越来越强，由此可见，在副词词库中，只有 increasingly符合句意。填空项 1:_ (正确答案：L)解析：此处应为名词。从上一段最后一句提到的depend on technology 和该段下一句提到的数字可以推断，本句应表明美国人很喜欢”online dating，可见，本题应从名词词库中选择popularity 一词。填空项 1:_ (正确答案：G)解析：

8、此处应为名词，而且该名词可以作make 的宾语。通过该段两句内容可以推断，此处的名词语义应该与上一句的 online dating 相关，在名词词库中，只有matches 符合要求。填空项 1:_ (正确答案：C)解析：此处应为形容词。根据上一句提到的new and interesting ways 可以知道本句提到的 services 应该是某种新式的有趣的服务形式，在所有过去分词和形容词中，personalized 一词最合适，personalizedservices 意为个性化服务”，正是因为有了 personalized services ，人们才能找到 the perfect mat

9、e。填空项 1:_ (正确答案：D)解析：此处应为动词原形。根据后面的宾语time and money 和此处的动词为动词原形等条件，可以确定在动词词库中，只有 invest 适合此处。填空项 1:_ (正确答案：A)解析：此处应为副词。该副词修饰planned，构成的意思应与 instead of 后的 leaving love to chance相对。副词词库中，只有carefully适合原文所要表达的语义。填空项 1:_ (正确答案：J)解析：此处应为形容词。根据but 表达的转折意义可以推断，该形容词与过对形容词词库中的词逐一排除，可以最后选定的服务”。填空项 1:_ (正确答案：解析

10、：此处应为形容词。从本段的介绍可以知道 而 experts 前的形容词应该表明这些 experts 且符合语义逻辑。填空项 1:_解析：此处应为复数形式的名词。在名词词库中，只有 recruitersAcademy Award nominees who go home empty-handed may not have a shiny Oscar to show off, but they may turn outto be the bigger winners in the game of life.According to a study published inBritish Medic

11、al Jour nalon December 21, Oscar-winningscreenwriters are more successful, more productive, and more (1) than losing nominees; however, they die sooner byabout four years.Because success is usually linked to better health, this is the first (2) ever that success is not associated with improved(3) ,

12、says Donald Redelmeier, lead author of the study.Researchers (4) down information about every person who was ever nominated for an Oscar since the awards were firsthanded out 73 years ago.To explain the (5) findings, he offers two theories. The first is the work-to-death hypothesis. According to Red

13、elmeier,screenwriters are more (6) to lead unhealthy lifestyles, meaning they smoke more, exercise less, and work a lot oflate-night hours, which translates into not enough sleep.Screenwriters dont have a boss to report to, which brings into (7) Redelmeiers second explanation, the party-heartyhypoth

14、esis.When you become a successful screenwriter, you gain status without daily accountability, and as a (8) your successmay lead you to more alcohol, more parties, and more obesity, he says. Redelmeier hopes his study will (9) howimportant it is to lead a healthy lifestyle.The bottom line, he says, i

15、s that greater success may (10) lead to worse health if people fail to look after themselves.A. longevity B. flourish C. apt D. sometimesE. tracked F. respected G. account H. miracleI. occupation J. puzzling K. stress L. consequenceM. internal N. fairly O. restrained（分数：10.00）填空项 1:_ （正确答案：F）解析：此处应为

16、形容词或动词分词。该词与successful 和 productive 并列，应该是表积极意义的词，动词分词和形容词中，只有 respected 合适。填空项 1:_ （正确答案：I ）解析：由前面的 the first 可知此处应为名词。本句中的 this 是指上文讨论的编剧这一职业，词库中只有occupation 一词最适合上下文的语义。填空项 1:_ （正确答案：A） 解析：此处应为名词，由 improved 修饰。这一句是对开头两段的一detailed二者形成鲜明对比，通costly。costly but detailed service指“昂贵而细致O）True Life Partn

17、ers 公司为客户提供服务的都是experts ,的优势，在词库中只有 trained 一词适合与 experts 搭配，（正确答案：F）根据本句内容可以推断此处的名词应该表示具体的某种“人”，一词表示某类人 招聘人员；征集者。很明显,个总结，特别是根据上一段的最后一句 提到的获奖编剧比未获奖者少活 4 年，可以推断空白处应为 longevity 一词。填空项 1:_ （正确答案： E）解析：此处应为动词过去式，可与 down 搭配构成本句的谓语。根据本句 since 引出的时间，可以推断该句 表明研究人员追踪了多届提名者的情况，因此 tracked 是最适当的词。填空项 1:_ （正确答案：

18、 J ）解析：此处应为形容词，修饰 findings 。第 3 段提到成功通常与身体健康紧密相连，而研究得出的结果相 反。再结合本句中的 explain ，可知研究结果是“令人费解的”，因此答案为 puzzling 。填空项 1:_ （正确答案： C）解析：此处应为形容词，或是动词分词，可与 to 搭配，并与 are 构成本句的谓语。结合上文提到的要解释 为什么成功的编剧寿命更短等内容， apt 最合适。 be apt to do sth. 意为“有做某事倾向的，易于做某 事的”。填空项 1:_ （正确答案： G）解析：此处应为名词或动名词，作 bring into 的宾语。 which 引出

19、的从句表明主句提到的内容可以解释 Redelmeier 的第二个理论，因此空白处应为“解释”之义，即 account 。填空项 1:_ （正确答案： L）解析：此处应该是名词，可与 as a 构成词组，表示句子上下文的因果关系。词库中只有 consequence 一词 可以表示因果关系，因此为答案。填空项 1:_ （正确答案： K）解析：此处应该是及物动词原形作谓语。根据上下文， Redelmeier 的研究是为了说明或强调健康生活模式 的重要性，在动词词库中， account 虽也有“说明”之义，但它是不及物动词，需与 for 一起连用，因此 只有 stress 一词最合适。填空项 1:_

20、（正确答案： D）解析：此处应为副词，作 may lead to. 的状语。根据 may 这个情态动词可以推断作者的态度并不坚决， 因此只有sometimes 最合适。三、Section B （总题数：2，分数：40.00）Questions on the Origins of Christmas1. Why do we celebrate on December 25th?A. The Bible makes no mention of Jesus being born on December 25th and, as more than one historian has pointed

21、out,why would shepherds be tending to their flock in the middle of winter? So whyis that the day we celebrate? Well, either Christian holidays miraculously fall on the same daysas pagan ones or the Christians have been crafty in converting pagan populations to religion by placing importantChristian

22、holidays on the same days as pagan ones. And people had been celebrating on December 25th （and thesurrounding weeks） for centuries by the time Jesus showed up.B. The Winter Solstice, falling on or around December 21st, was and is celebrated around the world as the beginning ofthe end of winter. It i

23、s the shortest day and longest night and its passingsignifies that spring is on the way. In Scandinavian countries, they celebrated the solstice with a holiday called Yule lastfrom the 21st until January and burned a Yule log the whole time. InRome, Saturnalia a celebration of Saturn, the God of agr

24、iculturelasted the entire end of theyear and was marked by mass intoxication. In the middleof this, the Romans celebrated the birthof another God, Mithra （a child God）, whose holiday celebrated the children of Rome.C. When the Christianity became the official religion of Rome, there was no Christmas

25、. It wasnot until the 4th century that Pope Julius I declared the birth of Jesus to be a holiday and picked December 25th as thecelebration day. By the middle ages, most people celebrated the holiday we know as Christmas.2. How did Americans come to love the holiday?D. The American Christmas is, lik

26、e most American holidays, a mishmash of Old World customs mixedwith American inventions. While Christmas was celebrated in America from the time of the Jamestown settlement, ourmodem idea of the holiday didnt take root until the 19th century. The History Channel credits Washington Irving withgetting

27、 the ball rolling. In 1819 he publishedTheSketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, gent., an account of a Christmas celebration in which a rich family invites poor folkinto their house to celebrate the holiday.E. The problem was that many of the activities described in Irvings work, such asCrowningaLord of Mi

28、srule, were entirely fictional. Nonetheless, Irving began to steer Christmas celebrations away from drunkendebauchery（ 放荡 ） and towards wholesome, charitable fun.Throughout the rest of the 19th century, Christmas gained popularity and Americans adopted old customs or inventednew ones, such as Christ

29、mas trees, greeting cards, giving gifts and eating a whole roasted pig.3. Who popularized Christmas trees?F. Since time immortal, humans have been fascinated with the color green and plants that stay green through winter.Many ancient societies from Romansto Vikings would decorate their Homes and tem

30、ples with evergreens in thewinter as a symbol of the returning growing season. But the Christmas tree didnt get going until someintrepid（ 无畏的 ） German dragged home and decorated a tree in the 16th century. Legend has it that Martin Luther himself addedlighted candles to his familys tree, starting th

31、e trend （and leading to countless fires through the years）. InAmerica, the Christmas tree didnt catch on until 1846 when the British royals, Queen Victoria and the German PrinceAlbert, were shown with a Christmas tree in a newspaper. Fashionable people in America mimicked the Royals and thetree thin

32、g spread outside of Germanenclaves（ 被围领土 ）in America. Ornaments, courtesy of Germany, and electric lights, courtesy of Thomas Edisons assistants, were addedover the years and we havent changed much since.4. Whats the deal with Santa Claus?G. The jolly, red-suited man who sneaks into your home every

33、year to leave you gifts hasnt always been so jolly. Thereal Saint Nick was a Turkish monk who lived in the 3rd century. According to legend, he was a rich man thanks to aninheritance from his parents, but he gave it all away in the form of gifts to the less-fortunate.He eventually becamethe most pop

34、ular saint in Europeand, through his alter ego, Santa Claus, remains so to this day. But how did a long-dead Turkish monk become a big, fat,reindeer-riding pole dweller? The Dutch got the ball rolling by celebrating the saint called Sinter Klaas in NewYorkin the late-18th century. Our old friend, Wa

35、shington Irving, included the legend of Saint Nick in his seminalHistory ofNew Yorkas well, but at theturn of the 18th century, Saint Nick was still a rather obscure figure in America.H. On December 23, 1823, though, a mannamed Clement Clarke Moore published a poem he had written for hisdaughters ca

36、lled An Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas, better known now as Twas the Night Before Christmas.Nobody knows how much of the poem Moore invented, but we do know that it was the spark that eventually lit the Santafire. Many of the things we associate withSanta a sleigh, reindeer, Christmas Eve visi

37、ts came from Moores poem. From 1863 to 1886, Thomas Nastsillustrations of Santa Claus appeared inHarpers Weekly including a scene with Santagiving gifts to Union soldiers. Not much has changed since the second half of the 19th century:Santa still gets pulled in a sleigh by flying reindeer, he still

38、wears the big red suit and he still sneaks down chimneys todrop off presents.5. Who invented Rudolph?I. Santa did get one more friend in 1939. Robert May, a copywriter for the Montgomery Ward department store chain,wrote a little story about a 9th reindeer witha disturbing red nosefora booklet to gi

39、ve customers during the holiday season. Ten years later, Mays brother would put the story to music,writing the lyrics and melody.分数： 20.00 ) （1）.Drunken debauchery was regarded as old Christmas practice in America in the 19th century.（分数： 2.00 ）填空项 1:_ （正确答案： E）解析：解析根据难词 Drunken debauchery 可快速定位至 E

40、段第 2 句，该句说 Irving 使圣诞节传统由酗 酒放荡变为健康、慈善的娱乐活动，故可知酗酒美国的圣诞旧习，故 E 段为本题出处。（2）.Rudolphappeared in Robert Mays story as a reindeer with a disturbing red nose.（分数：2.00 ）填空项 1:_ （正确答案： I ）解析： 解析 本题与 Rudolph 有关，故定位锁定在最后一个小标题 5. Whoinvented Rudolph? 下的 I 段。 该段第 2句讲述了相关 Rudolph 的相关信息，与题目所述一致，故 I 段为本题出处。（3） .The c

41、elebration of Jesus birth on Dec. 25th has much to do with Pope Julius I. （分数： 2.00 ）填空项 1:_ （正确答案： C）解析： 解析 本题与耶稣诞辰日子的选择有关， 故定位应锁定在 1. Whydo wecelebrate on December 25th? 标题下。再根据 Jesus birth 和 Dec. 25th 及 Pope Julius I 可快速定位至 C 段第 2 句。（4） .What Santa Clans does nowadays can be traced back to one of

42、 Clement Clarke Moores poems.（分数： 2.00 ）填空项 1:_ （正确答案： H）解析：解析根据 Clement Clarke Moores poem 可定位到 H 段第 2、3 句，这两句说很多有关圣诞老人 的东西都源于Clement Clarke Moore 写给他女儿的一首“诗”，题目意思与此相符。（5）.Santa Claus was basedon a monk named Saint Nick, who was from Turkey.（分数： 2.00 ）填空项 1:_ （正确答案： G）解析： 解析 本题与圣诞老人有关，定位锁定在 4. What

43、s the deal with Santa Claus? 标题下，再根 据 Saint Nick 及Turkey 可快速定位至 G 段第 2 句。（6） .Thanks to American writer Washington Irving, Christmas began to take root in America in the 19th century. （分数： 2.00 ）填空项 1:_ （正确答案：D）解析： 解析 本题与圣诞节在美国的情况有关，故定位锁定在 2. How did Americans come to love the holiday?标题下。再根据人名 Wash

44、ington Irving 及 19m century 可定位至 D 段第 2、3 句。（7） .Evergreens were used to decorate home as a symbol of the returning growing season in many ancient societies.（分数： 2.00 ）填空项 1:_ （正确答案： F）解析： 解析 本题的关键词是 Evergreens “常绿植物”，这与圣诞树的相关，故定位应该在 3. Who popularizedChristmas trees? 标题下。其中 F 段第 2 句所述与本题相符，故为答案。（8）

45、.People begin to celebrate Dec.25th before the birth of Jesus.（分数： 2.00 ）填空项 1:_ （正确答案： A）解析： 解析 本题与 12 月 25 日作为庆祝节日有关， 故定位应在 1. Whydo wecelebrate on December 25th? 标题下的段落。其中 A 段最后一句提到，在耶稣出现前的几个世纪，人们就一直在12 月 25 日庆祝了，这与本题意思一致，故 A 段为本题出处。（9）.The Winter Solstice thatcomes around Dec. 21st means spring

46、is coming.（分数： 2.00 ）填空项 1:_ （正确答案： B）解析： 解析 由题目的日期 Dec. 21st 可知本题仍与 12 月 25 日作圣诞节相关，故定位应在第 1 个小标题 下。其中 B段首句提到了 12 月 21 日及冬至，该句说冬至象征冬季开始结束，与题目中的春天到来相符， 故为本题出处。（10）.The trend of Christmas tree tradition in German was said to be related to Martin Luther.（分数： 2.00 ）填空项 1:_ （正确答案： F）解析： 解析 本题与圣诞树有关，故定位应

47、在小标题 3. Who popularized Christmas trees? 下的 F 段。 该段第 4 句提到 Martin Luther 与德国的圣诞树的流行有关，与本题所述一致。Hints and Tips to Save MoneyA. Spend less. This is not oversimplifying the best way to save money! It is essential if you are serious about being along-term money saver. Review what you spend and look at wa

48、ys you can save money. Consider making telephonecalls for instance only at off-peak times. Do you really need to have newspapers and magazines delivered? Can you dowithout those coffees you buy at break time every day would a flask of coffee taken to work save you money? Whatabout using the public l

49、ending library instead of buying books or music CDs? Once you start looking for ways to spendless you will quickly become an expert and really save money.B. Establish a personal budget. This is essential for families and individuals. You will not be able to save money unlessyou know how much money y

50、ou have coming in, and how much money you have going out. Once you have prepared abudget of incoming money and outgoing money, you will be able to identify areas where you can save. It is MUCH moredifficult to save money over a long period of time (the rest of your life?) without a budget.C. Bulk is

51、 good. Think about shopping and buying in bulk. You can also save money by cooking in bulk. This is a realway you can save money with little preparation and almost no extra outlay. Always purchase in bulk when you can.Prepared foods and convenience foods will always be much more expensive than all t

52、he ingredients needed to makethe food. Preparing food in bulk and in advance also gives you the opportunity to plan ahead and be more accurate inyour budget. Save money by buying in bulk whenever you can. One thing to be aware of when buying in bulk is to besure that any product you buy will get use

53、d before it goes bad you wont save money ff you have to throw stuff away.Buying in bulk is not only a good way to save money it is also a good strategy for coping with and surviving emergencies.D. Make sure a sale is a sale. By this I mean do your price research before you commit to making an expens

54、ivepurchase in a retailers money-off sale. You have to be sure the sale really is a sale and not a creative marketing strategyof the store to encourage you to spend your moneywithout thinking. Once you have researched the true price of aproduct (any product) you are in a good position to take advant

55、age of a sale, special offer or discount and really savemoney. Buy one get one free, 50% off, and Huge Discount will only help you save money if the actual price you payis lower than you would pay somewhere else for exactly the same product.E. Buy used. Sure, we all like to buy new. But there are hu

56、ge money savings to be made in buying used. Typically carslose one-third of their value in the first 24 months from new. Why not buy a car 24 months old? Other items such asclothes can be worth even less just the day after new. Look for ways to buy as good as new items and save money.Typical product

57、s you might consider buying used to save moneyinclude: cars, clothes, electrical goods, gardenitems.toolsand sheds,household items. pots and pans the list of used goods where you can save money is endless.F. Dont carry excessive debt. Some debt in our lives may be essential. We may need amortgage( 抵

58、押 ) to purchase a home, we may need to use our credit card to make purchases until payday, but your aim to savemoney should be to have as little debt as possible. Credit card debt is typically the most expensive debt we may carry.You will be able to save money every month if you make it an absolute

59、rule to pay off your outstanding balance everymonth. If you can have the discipline to do this you will save money by effectively having no debt, and thus no interestcharge on your credit card(s).G. Save money fast. No, I mean really savesome money. Each week or each month get into the habitof putti

60、ng an amount, however small into your savings. You could start by saving a very small fixed amount each timeand then move to putting in larger amounts once you begin to save money from your other money saving strategies. Youwill find that by saving money on a regular basis you will quickly build up