英语四级阅读备考真题

英语四级阅读备考真题Scratchythroats,stuffynosesandbodyachesallspellmisery,butbeingabletotellifthecauseisacoldorflu(流感)maymakeadifferenceinhowlongthemiserylasts.

TheAmericanLungAssociation(ALA)hasissuednewguidelinesoncombatingcoldsandtheflu,andoneofthekeysisbeingabletoquicklytellthetwoapart.That‘sbecausetheprescriptiondrugsavailableforthefluneedtobetakensoonaftertheillnesssetsin.Asforcolds,thesoonerapersonstartstakingover-the-counterremedy,thesoonerreliefwillcome.

Thecommoncoldandthefluarebothcausedbyviruses.Morethan200virusescancausecoldsymptoms,whilethefluiscausedbythreeviruses—fluA,BandC.Thereisnocureforeitherillness,buttheflucanbepreventedbythefluvaccine(疫苗),whichis,formostpeople,thebestwaytofighttheflu,accordingtotheALA.

Butifthefludoesstrike,quickactioncanhelp.Althoughthefluandcommoncoldhavemanysimilarities,therearesomeobvioussignstolookfor.

Coldsymptomssuchasstuffynose,runnynoseandscratchythroattypicallydevelopgradually,andadultsandteensoftendonotgetafever.Ontheotherhand,feverisoneofthecharacteristicfeaturesofthefluforallages.Andingeneral,flusymptomsincludingfeverandchills,sorethroatandbodyachescomeonsuddenlyandaremoreseverethancoldsymptoms.

TheALAnotesthatitmaybeparticularlydifficulttotellwheninfantsandpreschoolagechildrenhavetheflu.Itadvisesparentstocallthedoctoriftheirsmallchildrenhaveflu-likesymptoms.

Bothcoldandflusymptomscanbeeasedwithover-the-countermedicationsaswell.However,childrenandteenswithacoldorflushouldnottakeaspirinforpainreliefbecauseoftheriskofReyesyndrome(综合症)，ararebutseriousconditionoftheliverandcentralnervoussystem.

Thereis,ofcourse,novaccineforthecommoncold.Butfrequenthandwashingandavoidingclosecontactwithpeoplewhohavecoldscanreducethelikelihoodofcatchingone.

11.Accordingtotheauthor,knowingthecauseofthemiserywillhelp________.

A)shortenthedurationoftheillness

B)thepatientbuymedicineoverthecounter

C)thepatientobtaincheaperprescriptiondrugs

D)preventpeoplefromcatchingcoldsandtheflu

12.Welearnfromthepassagethat________.

A)onedoesn‘tneedtotakeanymedicineifhehasacoldortheflu

B)aspirinshouldnotbeincludedinover-the-countermedicinesfortheflu

C)delayedtreatmentofthefluwillharmtheliverandcentralnervoussystem

D)over-the-counterdrugscanbetakentoeasethemiserycausedbyacoldortheflu

13.Accordingtothepassage,tocombattheflueffectively,________.

A)oneshouldidentifytheviruswhichcausesit

B)oneshouldconsultadoctorassoonaspossible

C)oneshouldtakemedicineuponcatchingthedisease

D)oneshouldremainalertwhenthediseaseisspreading

14.Whichofthefollowingsymptomswilldistinguishtheflufromacold?

A)Astuffynose.

B)Ahightemperature.

C)Asorethroat.

D)Adrycough

15.Ifchildrenhaveflu-likesymptoms,theirparents________.

A)areadvisednottogivethemaspirin

B)shouldwatchoutforsignsofReyesyndrome

C)areencouragedtotakethemtohospitalforvaccination

D)shouldpreventthemfrommixingwithpeoplerunningafever

PassageTwo

InatimeoflowacademicachievementbychildrenintheUnitedStates,manyAmericansareturningtoJapan,acountryofhighacademicachievementandeconomicsuccess,forpossibleanswers.However,theanswersprovidedbyJapanesepreschoolsarenottheonesAmericansexpectedtofind.InmostJapanesepreschools,surprisinglylittleemphasisisputonacademicinstruction.Inoneinvestigation,300Japaneseand210Americanpreschoolteachers,childdevelopmentspecialists,andparentswereaskedaboutvariousaspectsofearlychildhoodeducation.Only2percentoftheJapaneserespondents(答问卷者)listed“togivechildrenagoodstartacademically”asoneoftheirtopthreereasonsforasocietytohavepreschools.Incontrast,overhalftheAmericanrespondentschosethisasoneoftheirtopthreechoices.Topreparechildrenforsuccessfulcareersinfirstgradeandbeyond,Japaneseschoolsdonotteachreading,writing,andmathematics,butratherskillssuchaspersistence,concentration,andtheabilitytofunctionasamemberofagroup.ThevastmajorityofyoungJapanesechildrenaretaughttoreadathomebytheirparents.

IntherecentcomparisonofJapaneseandAmericanpreschooleducation,91percentofJapaneserespondentschoseprovidingchildrenwithagroupexperienceasoneoftheirtopthreereasonsforasocietytohavepreschools.Sixty-twopercentofthemoreindividuallyoriented(强调共性进展的')Americanslistedgroupexperienceasoneoftheirtopthreechoices.AnemphasisontheimportanceofthegroupseeninJapaneseearlychildhoodeducationcontinuesintoelementaryschooleducation.

LikeinAmerica,thereisdiversityinJapaneseearlychildhoodeducation.SomeJapanesekindergartenshavespecificaims,suchasearlymusicaltrainingorpotentialdevelopment.Inlargecities,somekindergartensareattachedtouniversitiesthathaveelementaryandsecondaryschools.SomeJapaneseparentsbelievethatiftheiryoungchildrenattendauniversity-basedprogram,itwillincreasethechildren‘schancesofeventuallybeingadmittedtotop-ratedschoolsanduniversities.SeveralmoreprogressiveprogramshaveintroducedfreeplayasawayoutfortheheavyintellectualizinginsomeJapanesekindergartens.

16.WelearnfromthefirstparagraphthatmanyAmericansbelieve________.

A)JapaneseparentsaremoreinvolvedinpreschooleducationthanAmericanparents

B)Japan‘seconomicsuccessisaresultofitsscientificachievements

C)Japanesepreschooleducationemphasizesacademicinstruction

D)Japan‘shighereducationissuperiortotheirs

17.MostAmericanssurveyedbelievethatpreschoolsshouldalsoattachimportanceto________.

A)problemsolving

B)groupexperience

C)parentalguidance

D)individually-orienteddevelopment

18.InJapan‘spreschooleducation,thefocusison________.

A)preparingchildrenacademically

B)developingchildren‘sartisticinterests

C)tappingchildren‘spotential

D)shapingchildren‘scharacter

19.FreeplayhasbeenintroducedinsomeJapanesekindergartensinorderto________.

A)broadenchildren‘shorizon

B)cultivatechildren‘screativity

C)lightenchildren‘sstudyload

D)enrichchildren‘sknowledge

20.WhydosomeJapaneseparentssendtheirchildrentouniversity-basedkindergartens?

A)Theycandobetterintheirfuturestudies.

B)Theycanaccumulatemoregroupexperiencethere.

C)Theycanbeindividuallyorientedwhentheygrowup.

D)Theycanhavebetterchancesofgettingafirst-rateeducation.

PassageThree

Leaddeposits,whichaccumulatedinsoilandsnowduringthe1960‘sand70‘s,wereprimarilytheresultofleadedgasolineemissionsoriginatingintheUnitedStates.InthetwentyyearsthattheCleanAirActhasmandatedunleadedgasuseintheUnitedStates,theleadaccumulationworldwidehasdecreasedsignificantly.

AstudypublishedrecentlyinthejournalNatureshowsthatair-borneleadedgasemissionsfromtheUnitedStatesweretheleadingcontributortothehighconcentrationofleadinthesnowinGreenland.ThenewstudyisaresultofthecontinuedresearchledbyDr.CharlesBoutron,anexpertontheimpactofheavymetalsontheenvironmentattheNationalCenterforScientificResearchinFrance.AstudybyDr.Boutronpublishedin1991showedthatleadlevelsinarctic(北极的)snowweredeclining.

Inhisnewstudy,Dr.BoutronfoundtheratiosofthedifferentformsofleadintheleadedgasolineusedintheUnitedStatesweredifferentfromtheratiosofEuropean,AsianandCanadiangasolinesandthusenabledscientiststodifferentiate(区分)theleadsources.ThedominantleadratiofoundinGreenlandsnowmatchedthatfoundingasolinefromtheUnitedStates.

InastudypublishedinthejournalAmbio,scientistsfoundthatleadlevelsinsoilintheNortheasternUnitedStateshaddecreasedmarkedlysincetheintroductionofunleadedgasoline.

Manyscientistshadbelievedthattheleadwouldstayinsoilandsnowforalongerperiod.

TheauthorsoftheAmbiostudyexaminedsamplesoftheupperlayersofsoiltakenfromthesamesitesof30forestfloorsinNewEngland,NewYorkandPennsylvaniain1980andin1990Theforestenvironmentprocessedandredistributedtheleadfasterthanthescientistshadexpected.

Scientistssaybothstudiesdemonstratethatcertainpartsoftheecosystem(生态系统)respondrapidlytoreductionsinatmosphericpollution,butthatthesefindingsshouldnotbeusedasalicensetopollute.

21.ThestudypublishedinthejournalNatureindicatesthat________.

A)theCleanAirActhasnotproducedthedesiredresults

B)leaddepositsinarcticsnowareontheincrease

C)leadwillstayinsoilandsnowlongerthanexpected

D)theUSisthemajorsourceofleadpollutioninarcticsnow

22.LeadaccumulationworldwidedecreasedsignificantlyaftertheuseofunleadedgasintheUS________.

A)wasdiscouraged

B)wasenforcedbylaw

C)wasprohibitedbylaw

D)wasintroduced

23.HowdidscientistsdiscoverthesourceofleadpollutioninGreenland?

A)ByanalyzingthedatapublishedinjournalslikeNatureandAmbio.

B)Byobservingtheleadaccumulationsindifferentpartsofthearcticarea.

C)BystudyingthechemicalelementsofsoilandsnowinNortheasternAmerica.

D)Bycomparingthechemicalcompositionsofleadedgasolineusedinvariouscountries.

24.TheauthorsoftheAmbiostudyhavefoundthat________.

A)forestsgetridofleadpollutionfasterthanexpected

B)leadaccumulationsinforestsaremoredifficulttodealwith

C)leaddepositsarewidelydistributedintheforestsoftheUS

D)theupperlayersofsoilinforestsareeasilypollutedbyleademissions

25.Itcanbeinferredfromthelastparagraphthatscientists________.

A)arepuzzledbythemysteryofforestpollution

B)feelrelievedbytheuseofunleadedgasoline

C)stillconsiderleadpollutionaproblem

D)lacksufficientmeanstocombatleadpollution

PassageFour

Exerciseisoneofthefewfactorswithapositiveroleinlong-termmaintenanceofbodyweight.Unfortunately,thatmessagehasnotgottenthroughtotheaverageAmerican,whowouldrathertryswitchingto“light”beerandlow-caloriebreadthanincreasephysicalexertion.TheCentersforDiseaseControl,forexample,foundthatfewerthanone-fourthofoverweightadultswhoweretryingtoshedpoundssaidtheywerecombiningexercisewiththeirdiet.

Inrejectingexercise,somepeoplemaybediscouragedtoomuchbycaloric-expenditurecharts:forexample,onewouldhavetobrisklywalkthreemilesjusttoworkoffthe275caloriesinonedeliciousDanishpastry(小甜饼).Evenexerciseprofessionalsconcedehalfapointhere.“Exercisebyitselfisaverytoughwaytoloseweight,”saysYorkOnnen,programdirectorofthePresident‘sCouncilonPhysicalFitnessandSports.

Still,exercise‘ssupportingroleinweightreductionisvital.AstudyattheBostonUniversityMedicalCenterofoverweightpoliceofficersandotherpublicemployeesconfirmedthatthosewhodietedwithoutexerciseregainedalmostalltheiroldweight,whilethosewhoworkedexerciseintotheirdailyroutinemaintainedtheirnewweight.

Ifyouhavebeensedentary(极少活动的)anddecidetostartwalkingonemileaday,theaddedexercisecouldburnanextra100caloriesdaily.Inayear‘stime,assumingnoincreaseinfoodintake,youcouldlosetenpounds.Byincreasingthedistanceofyourwalksgraduallyandmakingotherdietaryadjustments,youmayloseevenmoreweight.

26.WhatissaidabouttheaverageAmericaninthepassage?

A)Theytendtoexaggeratethehealthfuleffectof“light”beer.

B)Theyusuallyignoretheeffectofexerciseonlosingweight.

C)Theyprefer“light”beerandlow-caloriebreadtootherdrinksandfood.

D)Theyknowthefactorsthatplayapositiveroleinkeepingdownbodyweight.

27.Somepeopledislikeexercisebecause________.

A)theythi