公共英语四级阅读理解专项强化真题试卷4(题后含答案及解析)

公共英语四级阅读理解专项强化真题试卷4(题后含答案及解析)题型有：1.Giventhefactthateachpersonisonlyoneofapproximately90millionvotersinthiscountry,doesitmakesensetobelievethatoneperson’sparticipation,onevote,willhaveanyimpactonamajorelection?Simplytoraisethequestion“Whatifeveryonefeltthesameway?”doesnotremovethelingeringimpressionthatasinglepersonismadetofeelinsignificantbytheenormousnumberofpeoplewhodogotothepolls,especiallyinanationalelection.Supportersoftherulingelitetheoryinsistthateventhoughvotersaregivenachoiceamongcandidates,theirchoiceisrestrictedtoanarrowrangeofsimilar-mindedindividualsapprovedbytherulingelite.Electionsdonotexpresswhatmostpeoplewantorneed,nordotheyprovideguidanceforpoliticians(eveniftheywantit)onwhatpoliciestoenact.Inthisview,electionsareprimarilyjustritualsthatperformasymbolicfunctionforsociety.Still,sincemostpeoplecontinuetoshowfacesatthepollsatonetimeoranother,whatargumentscanbemadeinfavorofvoting?Oneargumentisthatvotingdoeshavesignificance,ifnotinindividualimpact,theningrouppressure.Becausecitizenscollectivelyhavethepowertogiveorwithholdvotes,theydirectlycontroltheterminofficeofelectedofficials.EvenifthechoiceisbetweenTweedledeeandTweedledum,Tweedledeeknowsthatonemustbeaccountableandthisisfixedbylaw,andthatminimallyheorshemuststrivetoavoiddispleasingtheconstituentstolosethejob.Butperhapspoliticaleffectivenessandimpactinvotingarenottheonlyconsiderationanyway.Peopledonotvoteonlytoinfluencepolicy.Millionsgototheefforttoregisterandvoteforavarietyofotherreasonsaswell.Somepeoplemayparticipatejusttoavoidfeelingguiltyaboutnotvoting.Theymayhavebeentaughtthatistheirpatrioticdutytovoteandthattheyhavenorighttocomplainabouttheoutcomeiftheystayathome.Stillothersmayvotetoderivesatisfactionfromfeelingthattheyaresomehowparticipants,notjustspectators,inanexcitingelectoralcontest.Eveniftheironevotemaynotbecrucialtotheoutcome,itneverthelessaffirmstheirroleinandsupportforthepoliticalprocess.Indeed,perhapsitisthisfinalneedthatfuelsthedesireforfulldemocraticparticipationamongpeopleinmanynationsoftheworld.1．Whatisthetruenatureofelectionsaccordingtotherulingelitetheory?A．Theyareroutinepracticesinamodernsociety.B．Theyarepoliticalgatheringforasmallnumberofpeople.C．Theyaredeceptiveschemesmanipulatedbytherulingparty.D．Theyarechancesforthosewhowanttouttertheirwishes.正确答案：A解析：该题为细节题。根据第二段第二、三句“Electionsdonotexpresswhatmostpeoplewantorneed，nordotheyprovideguidanceforpoliticians(eveniftheywantit)onwhatpoliciestoenact．Inthisview，electionsareprimarilyjustritualsthatperformasymbolicfunctionforsociety．”可知，精英治国理论的支持者认为，选举并没有表达出大部分人想要的或需要的，也没有为政治家就颁布何种政策而提供一些指导，而主要是一种表现社会象征性功能的仪式，故选A。2．AccordingtoParagraph3,peoplegotothepollsbecausetheyA．believeit’stheirresponsibilitytovote.B．believetheircollectivepowermakesadifference.C．wanttoshowthestrengthandimpactofeachindividual.D．don’twanttorisklosingtheirjobs.正确答案：B解析：该题为细节题。根据第三段第二、三句“Oneargumentisthatvotingdoeshavesignificance，ifnotinindividualimpact，theningrouppressure．Becausecitizenscollectivelyhavethepowertogiveorwithholdvotes，theydirectlycontroltheterminofficeofelectedofficials．”可知，一个争论就是投票确实是有意义的，要么是个人影响力的关系，要么是集体压力。因为全体公民有权利投票或不投票，因此他们直接控制着被选上官员的条件。由此可推断出，人们之所以去投票是因为他们觉得他们的集体意愿会对选举有影响，故B选项最符合文意。A选项“人们去投票是因为他们认为他们有责任投票”在第三段中并没有提到，故A选项不正确。C选项“是因为想要表现每个个人的力量和影响”与文中“Oneargumentis…ifnotinindividualimpact”不符，故C选项不正确。D选项“是因为人们不想冒失业的危险”与文中第三段最后一句“Evenifthechoiceis…heorshemuststrivetoavoiddispleasingtheconstituentstolosethejob”中heorshe指代的是那些被选上的人，而非选举人，故D选项与文意不符，故选B。3．“TweedledeeandTweedledum”(Line5,Paragraph3)isusedtorefertoA．twovotingindividualsinanelection.B．whateverpartiesinoffice.C．whichevercandidatesinanelection.D．supportersindifferentconstituencies.正确答案：C解析：该题为猜测词义题。根据第三段第三句“Becausecitizenscollectivelyhavethepowertogiveorwithholdvotes，theydirectlycontroltheterminofficeofelectedofficials．”可知，因为全体公民有权利投票或不投票，因此他们直接控制着被选上官员的条件。紧接着就说“即使这个选择是在阿呆和阿瓜之间”可知，此处的TweedledeeandTweedledum指的是选举中的任何一个候选者，故选C。4．Whatcanbelearntfromthelasttwoparagraphs?A．Theendresultisdecidedbyeverystepintheprocess.B．Democracyismoreofapracticethanofatheory.C．Participationwillridvotersofanyguiltyconscience.D．Supportingthewinnermaybringgreatexcitement.正确答案：B解析：该题为推断题。根据最后一段“Eveniftheironevotemaynotbecrucialtotheoutcome，itneverthelessaffirmstheirrolein…inmanynationsoftheworld．”可知，即使民众的一个选票对选举结果并不能产生至关重要的作用，然而，这也确认了他们在参与并支持政治进程中的角色。事实上，也许这就是激发世界上许多国家的人民对于完全参与民主欲望的最终需要。由此可以看出民众参与选举投票的意义所在，B选项符合文意。A选项“最后的结果是由过程中的每一步所决定的”文中并没有相应描述，故选B。C选项“参与选举会去除投票者的负罪感”与文意不符，根据第四段第三句“Somepeoplemayparticipatejusttoavoidfeelingguiltyaboutnotvoting．”可知有些人也许参与选举只是为了避免不选举的罪责，故C选项不正确。根据第四段最后一句“Stillothersmayvotetoderivesatisfactionfromfeelingthattheyaresomehowparticipants，notjustspectators，inanexcitingelectoralcontest．”可知，有的人选举也许是为了从中产生一种满足感，一种他们在一场令人激动的选举比赛中是参与者而非旁观者的感觉。故D选项不正确。A选项“最后的结果是由过程中的每一步所决定的”文中并没有相应描述，故选B。5．Whichofthefollowingisthebesttitleforthetext?A．WhyVote?B．HowtoVote?C．WhomtoVotefor?D．DoElectionsWork?正确答案：A解析：该题为主旨题。全文主要论述即使有人认为选举并不能起很大的作用，但还是有一定意义的，即描述人们一直不断选举的原因。第一段提出人们对投票的不同观点，第二段主要介绍选举的实质，第三段主要阐述为什么要投票，第四段主要论述人们选举的原因，最后一段主要总结选举的意义。B选项“怎样去选举”，C选项“为谁而选举”和D选项“选举起作用吗”在文章中并没提到，只有A选项“为什么选举”符合文意，故选A。Competitionforadmissiontothecountry’stopprivateschoolshasalwaysbeentough,butthisyearElisabethrealizedithadreachedanewlevel.Herwake-upcallcamewhenamancalledtheDaltonSchoolinManhattan,whereElisabethisadmissionsdirector,andinquiredabouttheagecutofffortheirkindergartenprogram.Afterprovidingtheinformation,sheaskedabouttheageofhischild.Themanpausedforanuncomfortablylongtimebeforeanswering.“Well,wedon’thaveachildyet.We’retryingtofigureoutwhentoconceiveachildsothebirthdayisnotaproblem.“WorriesarespreadingfromManhattantotherestofthecountry.Precisecurrentdataonprivateschoolsareunavailable,butinterviewswithrepresentativesofindependentschoolsalltoldthesamestory:anoversupplyofapplicants,higherrejectionrates.“Wehavepeoplecallingusforspotstwoyearsdowntheroad,“saidMarilynoftheSevenHillsSchoolinCincinnati.“Wehavegrandparentscallingforpregnantdaughters.“PublicopinionpollsindicatethatAmericans’No.1concerniseducation.Nowthatthelongeconomicboomhasgivenparentsmoredisposableincome,manyareturningtoprivateschools,evenatpricetagsofwellover$10,000ayear.“We’regettingapplicantsfromabroaderareageographicallythanweeverhaveinthepast,“saidBetsyoftheLatinSchoolofChicago,whichexperienceda20percentincreaseinapplicationsthisyear.Theproblemfortheapplicantsisthatwhiledemandhasincreased,supplyhasnot.“Everyyear,thereareafewchildrenwhodonotfindplaces,butthisyear,forthefirsttimethatIknowof,thereareasignificantnumberwithoutplaces,“saidElisabeth.Sowhatcanparentsdotogivetheir4-year-oldanedge?Schoolsknowthereisnoeasywaytopickaclasswhenchildrenaresoyoung.Manyschoolsgivepreferencetochildrenoftheirgraduates.Somemakethechoicebydrawinglots.Butmostrelyonamixofsubjectiveandobjectivemeasures:teststhatatbestidentifydevelopmentalmaturityandcognitivepotential,interviewswithparentsandobservationofapplicantsinclassroomsettings.Theyalsowantadiversemix.Childrenmayenduponawaitinglistsimplybecausetheirbirthdaysfallatthewrongtimeofyear,orbecausetoomanyapplicantswereboys.Theworstthingapatentcandoistopressurepreschoolerstoperform—forexample,bypushingthemtoreadordomathexercisesbeforethey’reready.Instead,theexpertssay,parentsshouldtakeabreathandlookforalternatives.Anotheryearinpreschoolmaybeallthat’sneeded.6．FromthistextwelearnthatitisA．hardertomakeachoicebetweenpublicandprivateschools.B．hardertogotoprivateschoolsthisyearthanbefore.C．moredifficulttogotopublicschoolsthantoprivateschools.D．asdifficulttogotoprivateschoolsthisyearasbefore.正确答案：B解析：该题为细节题。根据第一段第一句“Competitionforadmissiontothecountry’stopprivateschoolshasalwaysbeentough，butthisyearElisabethrealizedithadreachedanewlevel．”可知，进入国家的顶级私立学校的竞争一直以来都很激烈，但是今年伊丽莎白发现这种竞争达到了一个新的水平。由此可知，今年想进入私立学校比往年更加困难，而不是跟往年一样困难，故选B。7．Thesentence”Wehavepeople...downtheroad”(Line4,Paragraph2)probablymeansA．wehavepeoplecallingusforparkingspacetwoyearsaheadoftime.B．peoplecalledusforpermissiontousetheplacestwoyearsago.C．wereceivedcallsfrompeopledowntheroadtwoyearsago.D．peoplecalledusforschoolvacanciestwoyearsinadvance.正确答案：D解析：该题为释义题。根据后一句“Wehavegrandparentscallingforpregnantdaughters．”可知，有些家长会提前向私立学校咨询孩子入学的事情。因此可以推知“Wehavepeoplecallingusforspotstwoyearsdowntheroad．”意为“有人提前两年就打电话咨询学校是否会有名额。”，故选D。8．ThetextindicatesthatprivateschoolsareveryselectivebecausetheyA．havenoreliablemethodstopickstudentsforaclass.B．wantagoodmixtureofboysandgirlsforclasses.C．encountermoredemandthantheycancopewith.D．prefertoenrollchildrenoftheirrelatives.正确答案：C解析：该题为推理题。根据第三段“Theproblemfortheapplicantsisthatwhiledemandhasincreased，supplyhasnot．”可知申请私立学校的人数在增加，但私立学校的招生名额却没有增加。接着第四段详细讲了一些私立学校如何选择学生。由此可推断，私立学校对学生如此精挑细选的原因在于有太多的学生申请，他们不得不通过各种方法来选择学生。选项A与文章的意思有所出入，第四段第二句“Schoolsknowthereisnoeasywaytopickaclasswhenchildrenaresoyoung．”可知学校认为选择学生没有简单的方法，并不是如A项所表示的选择的方法不可靠。选项B是某些学校选择生源的方法，即男女比例协调，由此可知A、B两项不能作为学校精心选择学生的原因。选项D在文中没有提及，故选C。9．Fromthetext,wecaninferthattheauthorA．favorstheideaofputtingchildrenonawaitinglist.B．agreestotestpreschooler’scognitivepotentials.C．thinkschildrenshouldbebetterpreparedacademicallyD．disapprovesoftheunduepressureonpreschoolers.正确答案：D解析：该题为态度题。由最后一段的第一句“Theworstthingaparentcandoistopressurepreschoolerstoperform--forexample，bypushingthemtoreadordomathexercisesbeforethey’reready．”可知作者认为强迫学龄前儿童学习是父母做的最糟糕的事。由此可推断出作者反对给学龄前儿童过度的压力，故选D。10．Whichofthefollowingcanserveasatitleofthistext?A．HardTimeforthePreschoolersB．ProsperityofPrivateSchoolsC．TheProblemforPublicSchoolsD．Americans’sNo1Concern正确答案：A解析：该题为主旨题。全文主要讲述儿童进入顶级私立学校困难，名额少，学校筛选过程谨慎，许多父母都在提早为学龄前孩子做准备。选项A“学龄前儿童的艰难时代”符合文意；选项B“私立学校的繁荣兴旺”，只是涉及文章的部分内容，文章主旨围绕的是学生申请私立学校困难这一现象，而不是私立学校本身；选项C“公立学校的难题”，而文中并没有提到；选项D“美国人最关注的问题”即教育，涉及教育方面的内容有很多，本文谈论的仅仅是其中一方面，该说法过于宽泛，B、C、D均不符合文意，故选A。WilliamShakespearedescribedoldageas”secondchildishness”—noteeth,noeyes,notaste.Inthecaseoftastehemay,musicallyspeaking,havebeenmoreperceptivethanherealised.ApaperinNeurologybyGiovanniFrisoniandhiscolleaguesattheNationalCentreforResearchandCareofAlzheimers’sDiseaseinItaly,showsthatfrontotemporaldementiacanaffectmusicaldesiresinwaysthatsuggestaregression,ifnottoinfancy,thenatleasttoapatient’steens.Frontotemporaldementia,adiseaseusuallyfoundwitholdpeople,iscaused,asitsnamesuggests,bydamagetothefrontandsidesofthebrain.Theseregionsareconcernedwithspeech,andwithsuch”higher”functionsasabstractthinkingandjudgment.TwoofsuchpatientsintriguedDrFrisoni.Onewasa68-year-oldlawyer,theothera73-year-oldhousewife.Bothhadundamagedmemories,butdisplayedthesortsofdefectassociatedwithfrontotemporaldementia—adiagnosisthatwasconfirmedbybrainscanning.Abouttwoyearsafterhewasfirstdiagnosed,thelawyer,onceaclassicalmusicloverwhoreferredtopopmusicas”merenoise”,startedlisteningtotheItalianpopband“883”.Ashiscommandoflanguageandhisemotionalattachmentstofriendsandfamilydeteriorated,hecontinuedtolistentothebandatfullvolumeformanyhoursaday.Thehousewifehadnotevenhadthelawyer’sloveofclassicalmusic,havingneverenjoyedmusicofanysortinthepast.Butaboutayearafterherdiagnosisshebecameveryinterestedinthesongsthather11-year-oldgranddaughterwaslisteningto.ThiskindofchangeinmusicaltastewasnotseeninanyoftheAlzheimer’spatients,andthusappearstobespecifictothosewithfrontotemporaldementia.Andotherstudieshaveremarkedonhowfrontotemporal-dementiapatientssometimesgainnewtalents.Fivesuffererswhodevelopedartisticabilitiesareknown.Andinanothercase,onewomanwiththediseasesuddenlystartedcomposingandsingingcountryandwesternsongs.DrFrisonispeculatesthattheillnessiscausingpeopletodevelopanewattitudetowardsnovelexperiences,Previousstudiesofnovelty-seekingbehavioursuggestthatitismanagedbythebrain’srightfrontallobe.Apredominanceoftherightovertheleftfrontallobe,causedbydamagetothelatter,mightthusleadtoaquestfornewexperience.Alternatively,thedamagemayhaveaffectedsomespecificnervoussystemthatisneededtoappreciatecertainkindsofmusic.Whetherthatisagainoralossisadifferentmatter.AsDrFrisoniputsitinhisarticle,thereisnoaccountingfortaste.11．ThewriterquotesShakespearemainlytoA．praisethekeenperceptionofthegreatEnglishwriter.B．supportDr.Frisoni’stheoryaboutadisease.C．startthediscussiononabraindisease.D．showthelonghistoryofthedisease.正确答案：C解析：该题为细节加推理题。第一段第一句话莎士比亚把老年阶段比做“第二次孩子气”——没有牙，视力差，失去味觉。接着整篇文章谈论了一种跟音乐品味有关的大脑疾病——额颞痴呆症。由此可知，作者引用莎士比亚的一句话只是为了引出后文，即startdiscussiononabraindisease，故选C。12．Theword“regression”inthe1stparagraphisbestreplacedbyA．backwardmovement.B．uncontrolledinclination.C．rapidadvancement.D．unexpectedrestoration.正确答案：A解析：该题为释义题。根据第一段最后一句“…ifnottoinfancy，thenatleasttoapatient’steens．”可知额颞痴呆症可以在某种程度上引起音乐品味的退化，即便不是退到婴儿期，也至少会退到病人十几岁时，故选A。13．Aftercontractingfrontotemporaldementia,the68-year-oldlawyerA．becamemoredependentonhisfamily.B．grewfondofclassicalmusic.C．recoveredfromlanguageincompetence.D．enjoyedloudItalianpopularmusic.正确答案：D解析：该题为细节题。根据第四段第一句“Abouttwoyearsafterhewasfirstdiagnosed，thelawyer，onceaclassicalmusicloverwhoreferredtopopmusicas‘merenoise’，startedlisteningtotheItalianpopband‘883’．”以及第二句“…hecontinuedtolistentothebandatfullvolumeformanyhoursaday．”可知，在这位68岁的律师患有额颞痴呆症后，本来只热爱古典音乐而把流行音乐比作“纯粹噪音”的他开始听意大利流行乐队“883”的歌，而且把音量放到最大，每天持续听数小时，可知他享受意大利流行音乐，故选D。14．FrontotemporaldementiaisadiseaseA．identifiedwithlossofmemory.B．causingdamagetocertainpartsofthebrain.C．whosepatientsmaydevelopnewtalents.D．whosesymptomsaresimilartothoseofAlzheimer’spatients.正确答案：C解析：该题为细节题。根据第三段第三句“Bothhadundamagedmemories，butdisplayedthesortsofdefect…”可知额颞痴呆症患者的记忆都没有受损，选项A不符合文意；根据第二段第一句“Frontotemporaldementia，adiseaseusuallyfoundwitholdpeople，iscaused，asitsnamesuggests，bydamagetothefrontandsidesofthebrain．”可知，额颞痴呆症是由大脑前部和侧面的损坏引起的，而选项B表达的意思是额颞痴呆症会引起大脑某些部分的损毁，与文章原意因果颠倒；根据第五段第一句“ThiskindofchangeinmusicaltastewasnotseeninanyoftheAlzheimer’spatients，andthusappearstobespecifictothosewithfrontotemporaldementia．”可知，阿尔茨海默氏病患并没有出现这种音乐品味的变化，仅仅是那些患有额颞痴呆的病患有这样的症状，选项D所述额颞痴呆的症状与阿尔茨海默氏病症状相似的说法是错误的；根据第五段第二句“Andotherstudieshaveremarkedonhowfrontotemporal-dementiapatientssometimesgainnewtalents．”可知，有研究表明额颞痴呆症有可能使患者获得新的才能，故选C。15．DrFrisoniattributedthepatients’changingmusictastetoA．man’sdesiretoseeknovelexperience.B．thedamagetotheleftpartofthebrain.C．theshiftofpredominancefromtherightlobetotheleft.D．theweakeningofsomepartofthenervoussystem.正确答案：D解析：该题为细节题。该题可使用排除法。根据最后一段第三句和第四句“Apredominanceoftherightovertheleftfrontallobe，causedbydamagetothelatter，mightthusleadtoaquestfornewexperience．Alternatively，thedamagemayhaveaffectedsomespecificnervoussystemthatisneededtoappreciatecertainkindsofmusic．”可知由于左侧额叶的损伤，右侧额叶会占据主导地位，这样导致了病患对新体验的追求。或者，左侧额叶的损伤可能会影响到一些控制音乐品味的特定的神经系统。所以，作者将病患音乐品味的变化归结为左侧额叶受损所导致一些控制音乐品味的特定神经系统的损坏。选项A“人们追求新体验的渴望”并不是患者音乐品味变化的原因；选项B将原因归结为大脑左半边的损坏，与文章中所述左侧额叶受损不符；选项C将原因归结为占主导地位的由右侧额叶转为左侧额叶，与文中提到的因左侧额叶受损，而右侧额叶占主导地位不符，A、B、C三项均不符合文意，故选D。Who’stoblame?ThetrailofresponsibilitygoesbeyondpoormaintenanceofBritishrailways,sayindustrycritics.Stingygovernments—bothLaborandTory—havecutdownoninvestmentsintrainsandrails.Inthemid-1990saConservativegovernmentpushedthroughthesaleoftheentiresubsidy-guzzlingrailnetwork.Operatingfranchiseswereparceledoutamongprivatecompaniesandaseparatefirm,Railtrack,wasawardedownershipofthetracksandstations.Inthefuture,thetheoryranbackthen,theprivatesectorcouldpayforanyimprovements—withalittlehelpfromthestate—andtaketheblameforanyfailings.Todaysurveysshowthattravelersbelieveprivatizationisoneofthereasonsfortherailways’sfailures.Theyaskwhetherthepursuitofprofitsiscompatiblewithguaranteeingsafety.Worse,splittingthenetworkbetweencompanieshasmadecoordinationnearlyimpossible.“Therailwaywastornapartatprivatizationandthestructurethatwasputinplacewas...designed,ifwearehonest,tomaximizetheproceedstotheTreasury,“saidRailtrackbossGeraldCorbettbeforeresigninglastmonthinthewakeoftheHatfieldcrash.Generally,thecontrastswithmainlandEuropearestark.OverthepastfewdecadestheGermans,FrenchandItalianshaveinvested50percentmorethantheBritishintransportationinfrastructure.Asaresult,awebofhigh-speedtrainsnowcrisscrosstheContinent,fundedbygovernmentswillingtocommitstatefundstomajorcapitalprojects.Spainiscurrentlyplanning1,000milesofnewhighspeedtrack.InFrancesuperfasttrainsalreadyshuttlebetweenallmajorcities,oftenondedicatedlines.AndinBritain?WhentheEurostartrainsthatlinkParis,LondonandBrusselsemergefromtheChannelTunnelontoBritishsoilandjointhecrowdedlocalnetwork,theymustslowdownfrom186mphtoamaximumof100mph—andtheyusuallyhavetogoevenslower.Foronce,thegovernmentislistening.Afterall,commutersarevoters,too.Inapre-votespendingspree,thegovernmenthascommitteditselftohugeinvestmentintransportation,aswellaseducationandthepublichealthservice.Overthenext10years,therailwaysshouldgetanextra￡60billion,partlythroughhighersubsidiestotheprivatecompanies.AsBlairackoowledgedlastmonth,“BritainhasbeenunderinvestedinandinvestmentiscentraltoBritain’sfuture.“Youdon’thavetotellthe3millionpassengerswhousetherailwayseveryday.LastweektrainstoDarlingtonwereanhourlate—andcrawlingatLocomotionNo.1speeds.16．Inthefirstparagraph,theauthortriestoA．tracethetragedytoitsdefectiveorigin.B．remindpeopleofBritain’sgloriouspast.C．explainthefailureofBritain’srailnetwork.D．callforimpartialityinassessingthesituation.正确答案：C解析：该题为细节题。在第一段中，作者回顾了英国铁路的现状产生的根源，即铁路的私有化。根据第一段第一、二句“Whoistoblame?Thetrailofresponsibil