2021年1月大学英语四级考试阅读附试题和答案-12

年1PartIIReadingComprehension(35minutes)Directions:Thereare4passagesinthispart.Eachpassageisfollowedbysomequestionsorunfinishedstatements.ForeachofthemtherearefourchoicesmarkedA),B),C)andD).YoushoulddecideonthebestchoiceandmarkthecorrespondingletterontheAnswerSheetwithasinglelinethroughthecenter.PassageOneQuestions21to25arebasedonthefollowingpassage.Unlesswespendmoneytospotandpreventasteroidsnow,onemightcrashintoEarthanddestroylifeasweknowit,saysomescientists.Asteroidsarebiggerversionsofthemeteoroids(流星)thatraceacrossthenightsky.MostorbitthesunfarfromEarthandthreatenus.ButtherearealsothousandsofasteroidswhoseorbitsputthemonacollisioncoursewithEarth.Buy$50millionworthofnewtelescopesrightnow.Thenspend第1页共15页$10millionayearforthenext25yearstolocatemostofthespacerocks.Bythetimewespotafatalone,thescientistssay,haveawaytochangeitscourse.Somescientistsfavorpushingasteroidsoffcoursewithnuclearweapons.Butthecostbecheap.Isitworthit?Twothingsexpertsconsiderwhenjudginganyriskre:1)Howlikelytheeventis;and2)Howbadtheconsequencesiftheeventoccurs.ExpertsthinkanasteroidbigenoughtodestroylotsoflifemightstrikeEarthonceevery500,000years.Soundsprettyrare—butifonedidfall,itwouldbetheendofthewetakecareofthesebigasteroids,takecareofus,”saysonescientist.“It’sthatsimple.”Thecure,though,mightbeworsethanthedisease.Dowereallywantfleetsofnuclearweaponssittingaroundonworldhaslesstofearfromdoomsday(毁灭性的)rocksthanfromagreatnuclearfleetsetagainstthem,”saidaNewYorkTimesarticle.21.Whatdoesthepassagesayaboutasteroidsandmeteoroids?第2页共15页A)Theyareheavenlybodiesdifferentincomposition.B)Theyareheavenlybodiessimilarinnature.C)Therearemoreasteroidsthanmeteoroids.D)Asteroidsaremoremysteriousthan22.WhatdoscientistssayaboutthecollisionofanasteroidwithEarth?A)Itisveryunlikelybutthedangerexists.B)Suchacollisionmightoccuronceevery25years.C)CollisionsofsmallerasteroidswithEarthoccurmoreoftenthanexpected.D)It’sstilltooearlytosaywhethersuchacollisionmightoccur.（A）23.Whatdopeoplethinkofthesuggestionofusingnuclearweaponstoalterthecoursesofasteroids?A)Itsoundspracticalbutitmaynotsolvetheproblem.B)Itmaycreatemoreproblemsthanitmightsolve.C)ItisawasteofmoneybecauseacollisionofasteroidswithEarthisveryunlikely.D)Furtherresearchshouldbedonebeforeitisprovedapplicable.（B）第3页共15页24.Wecanconcludefromthepassagethat________.A)whilepushingasteroidsoffcoursenuclearweaponswoulddestroytheworldB)asteroidsracingacrossthenightskyarelikelytohitEarthinthenearfutureC)theworryaboutasteroidscanbelefttofuturegenerationssinceitisunlikelytohappeninourlifetimeD)workablesolutionsstillhavetobefoundtopreventacollisionofasteroidswith25.Whichofthefollowingbestdescribesthetoneinthispassage?A)Optimistic.B)Critical.C)Objective.D)Arbitrary.（C）PassageTwoQuestions26to30arebasedonthefollowingpassage.Believeitornot,opticalillusion(错觉)cancuthighway第4页共15页crashes.Japanisacaseinpoint.Ithascrashesonsomeroadsbynearly75percentusingasimpleopticalillusion.Bentstripes,calledchevronspaintedontheroadsmakedriversthinkthattheyaredrivingfasterthantheyreallyare,andthusdriversslowdown.NowtheAmericanAutomobileAssociationFoundationforTrafficSafetyinWashingtonD.C.isplanningtorepeatsuccess.Startingnextyear,thefoundationwillpaintchevronsandotherpatternsofstripesonselectedroadsaroundthecountrytotesthowwellthepatternsreducehighwaycrashes.Excessivespeedplaysamajorroleinasmuchasonefifthofallfataltrafficaccidents,accordingtothefoundation.Tohelpreducethoseaccidents,thefoundationwillconductitstestsinareaswherespeed-relatedhazardsarethegreatest—curves,exitslopes,trafficcircles,andbridges.Somestudiessuggestthatstraight,horizontalbarspaintedacrossroadscaninitiallycuttheaveragespeedofdriversinhalf.However,trafficoftenreturnstofullspeedwithin第5页共15页monthsasdriversbecomeusedtoseeingthepaintedbars.Chevrons,scientistssay,notonlygivedriverstheimpressionthattheyaredrivingfasterthantheyreallyarebutalsomakealaneappeartobenarrower.Theresultisalongerlastingreductioninhighwayspedandthenumberoftrafficaccidents.26.Thepassagemainlydiscusses________.A)anewwayofhighwayspeedcontrolB)anewpatternforpaintinghighwaysC)anewapproachtotrainingdriversD)anewtypeofoptical27.Onroadspaintedwithchevrons,driverstendtofeelthat________.A)theyshouldavoidspeed-relatedhazardsB)theyaredrivinginthewronglaneC)theyshouldslowdowntheirspeedD)theyareapproachingthespeed28.Theadvantageofchevronsoverstraight,horizontalbarsisthattheformer________.A)cankeepdriversawake第6页共15页B)cancutroadaccidentsinhalfC)willhavealongereffectondriversD)willlookmore29.TheAmericanAutomobileAssociationFoundationforTrafficSafetyplansto________.A)tryouttheJapanesemethodincertainareasB)changetheroadsignsacrossthecountryC)replacestraight,horizontalbarswithchevronsD)repeattheJapaneseroad30.Whatdoestheauthorsayaboutstraight,horizontalbarspaintedacrossroads?A)TheyarefallingoutofuseintheUnitedStates.B)Theytendtobeignoredbydriversinashortperiodoftime.C)Theyareapplicableonlyonbroadroads.D)Theycannotbeappliedsuccessfullytotrafficcircles.（B）PassageThreeQuestions31to35arebasedonthefollowingpassage.第7页共15页Amtrak(美国铁路客运公司)wasexperiencingadownswinginridership(客运量)alongthelinescomprisingitsrailsystem.OfmajorconcerntoAmtrakanditsadvertisingagencyDDBNeedham,werethelong-distancewesternrouteswhereridershiphadbeendecliningsignificantly.]Atonetime,trainsweretheonlypracticalwaytocrossthevastareasofthewest.Trainswerefast,veryluxurious,andquiteconvenientcomparedtootherformsoftransportationexistingatthetime.However,timeschangeandtheautomobilebecamesstandardofconvenience.Also,airtravelhadeasilyestablisheditselfasthefastestmethodoftravelinggreatdistances.Therefore,thetaskforDDBNeedhamwastoencourageconsumerstoconsiderotheraspectsoftraintravelinordertochangetheirattitudesandincreasethelikelihoodthattrainswouldbeconsideredfortravelinthewest.Twoportionsofthetotalmarketweretargeted:1)anxiousfliers—thoseconcernedwithsafety,relaxation,andcleanlinessand2)travel-lovers—thoseviewingthemselvesasrelaxed,casual,andinterestedinthetravelexperienceaspartoftheirvacation.Theagencythendevelopedacampaignthatfocusedontravelexperiencessuchasfreedom,escape,第8页共15页relaxation,andenjoymentofthegreatwesternoutdoors.Itstressedexperiencesgainedbyusingthetrainsandportrayedwesterntraintripsaswonderfuladventures.Advertisementsshowedpicturesofthebeautifulscenerythatcouldbeenjoyedalongsomeofthemorefamouswesternroutesandemphasizedtheromanticnamesofsomeofthesetrains(EmpireBuilder,etc.).Theseadswerestrategicallyplacedamongfamily-orientedTVshowsandprogramsinvolvingnatureandAmericainordertomosteffectivelyreachtargetaudiences.Resultswereimpressive.TheEmpireBuilder,whichwasfocusedoninonead,enjoyeda15percentincreaseinprofitsonitsChicagotoSeattleroute.31.What’stheauthor’spurposeinwritingthispassage?A)Toshowtheinabilitytocompetewithplaneswithrespecttospeedandconvenience.B)TostresstheinfluenceoftheautomobileonAmerica’sstandardofconvenience.C)Toemphasizethefunctionoftravelagenciesinmarketpromotion.D)Toillustratetheimportantroleofpersuasivecommunication第9页共15页inchangingconsumer32.ItcanbeinferredfromthepassagethatthedropinAmtrakridershipwasduetothefactthat________.A)trainswerenotsuitableforshortdistancepassengertransportationB)trainswerenotthefastestandmostconvenientformoftransportationC)trainswerenotasfastandconvenientastheyusedtobeD)trainscouldnotcompetewithplanesintermsofluxuryandconvenience（B）33.Toencourageconsumerstotravelbytrain,DDBNeedhamemphasized________.A)thefreedomandconvenienceprovidedontrainsB)thepracticalaspectsoftraintravelC)theadventurousaspectsoftraintripsD)thesafetyandcleanlinessoftrain34.Thetrainadswereplacedamongfamily-orientedTVprogramsinvolvingnatureandAmericabecause________.A)theycouldfocusonmeaningfultravelexperiences第10页共15页B)theycouldincreasetheeffectivenessoftheTVprogramsC)theirprofitscouldbeincreasedbysome15percentD)mosttravel-loversandnervousflierswerebelievedtobeamongtheaudiences（D）35.Accordingtothepassage,theEmpireBuilderenjoyedanincreaseinridershipandprofitsbecause________.A)theattractivenessofitsnameandroutewaseffectivelyadvertisedB)itprovidedanexcitingtravelexperienceC)itspassengerscouldenjoythegreatwesternoutdoorsD)itwaswidelyadvertisedinnewspapersandmagazinesinChicagoandSeattle（A）PassageFourQuestions36to40arebasedonthefollowingpassage.Whydoescramgobadfasterthanbutter?Someresearchersthinktheyhavetheanswer,anditcomesdowntothestructureofthefood,notitschemicalfindingthatcouldhelpridsomeprocessedfoodsofchemicalpreservatives.第11页共15页Creamandbuttercontainprettymuchthesamesubstances,sowhycreamshouldsourmuchfasterhasbeenamystery.Bothareemulsions—tinyglobules(小球体)ofoneliquidevenlydistributedthroughoutanother.Thedifferenceliesinsintheglobulesandinthesurroundingliquid,saysBrocklehurst,wholedtheinvestigation.Incream,fattyglobulesdriftaboutinaseaofwater.Inbutter,globulesofawaterysolutionarelockedawayinaseaoffat.Thebacteriawhichmakethefoodgobadprefertoliveinthewateryregionsofthemixture.“Thismeansthatincream,thebacteriaarefreetogrowthroughoutthehesays.Whenthesituationisreversed,thebacteriaarelockedawayincompartments(隔仓室)burieddeepintheseaoffat.Trappedinthisway,individualcoloniescannotspreadandrapidlyrunoutofnutrients(养料).Theyalsoslowlypoisonthemselveswiththeirwasteproducts.“Inbutter,yougetaself-limitingsystemwhichstopsthebacteriagrowing,”saysBrocklehurst.Theresearchersarealreadyworkingwithfoodcompanieskeentoseeiftheirproductscanbemaderesistanttobacterial第12页共15页attackthroughalterationstothefood’sstructure.Brocklehurstbelievesitwillbepossibletomaketheemulsionsusedinsaladcream,forinstance,morelikethatinbutter.Thekeywillbetodothiswhilekeepingthesaladcreamliquidandno