大学英语四级考试阅读练习题2023年

大学英语四级考试阅读练习题2023

Directions:Thereare4passagesinthispart.Eachpassageisfollowedbysomequestionsorunfinishedstatements.ForeachofthemtherearefourchoicesmarkedA),B),C)andD).YoushoulddecideonthebestchoiceandmarkthecorrespondingletterontheAnswerSheetwithasinglelinethroughthecentre.

Questions21to25arebasedonthefollowingpassage:

Increasingly,overthepasttenyears,people—especiallyyoungpeople—havebecomeawareoftheneedtochangetheireatinghabits,becausemuchofthefoodtheyeat,particularlyprocessedfoods,isnotgoodforhealth.Consequently,therehasbeenagrowinginterestinnaturalfoods:foodswhichdonotcontainchemicaladditivesandwhichhavenotbeenaffectedbychemicalfertilizerswidelyusedinfarmingtoday.

Naturalfoods,forexample,arevegetables,fruitandgrainwhichhavebeengrowninsoilthatisrichinorganicmatter.Insimpleterms,thismeansthatthesoilhasbeennourishedbyunusedvegetablematter,whichprovidesitwithessentialvitaminsandminerals.Thisinitselfisanaturalprocesscomparedwiththeuseofchemicalsandfertilizers,themainpurposeofwhichistoincreasetheamountbutnotthequalityoffoodsgrownincommercialfarmingareas.

Naturalfoodsalsoincludeanimalswhichhavebeenallowedtofeedandmovefreelyinhealthypastures.Comparethiswithwhathappensinthemassproductionofpoultry:therearebatteryfarms,forexample,wherethousandsofchickenslivecrowdedtogetherinonebuildingandarefedonfoodwhichislittlebetterthanrubbish.Chickenskeptinthiswayarenotonlytastelessasfood;butalsoproduceeggswhichlackimportantvitamins.

Thereareotheraspectsofhealthyeatingwhicharenowreceivingincreasingattentionfromexpertsondiet.Take,forexample,thequestionofsugar.Thisisactuallyanonessentialfood!Althoughanaturalalternative,suchashoney,canbeusedtosweetenfoodifthisnecessary,wecaninfactdowithoutit.Itisnotthatsugarisharmfulinitself.Butitdoesseemtobeadditive:thequantityweusehasgrownsteadilyoverthelastcenturiesandinBritaintodayeachpersonconsumesanaverageof200poundsayear!Yetallitdoesisprovideuswithenergy,intheformofcalories.Therearenovitaminsinit,nomineralsandnofiber.

Itissignificantthatnowadaysfiberisconsideredtobeanimportantpartofahealthydiet.Inwhitebread,forexample,thefiberhasbeenremoved.Butitispresentinunrefinedflourandofcourseinvegetables.Itisinterestingtonotethatincountrieswherethenationaldietcontainslargequantitiesofunrefinedflourandvegetables,certaindiseasesarecomparativelyrare.Hencetheemphasisisplacedontheeatingofwholemealbreadandmorevegetablesbymodernexpertson“healthyeating”.

21.Whichstatementbestexpressesthemainideaofthisarticle?

A)Peopleshouldeatanyfoodtokeepthemselveshealthyandstrong.

B)Peopleshouldeatnaturalfoodstokeepthemselveshealthyandstrong.

C)Peopleshouldeatfiberfoodstokeepthemselveshealthyandstrong.

D)Peopleshouldeatvegetablestokeepthemselveshealthyandstrong.

22.“Particularlyprocessedfoods”means____.

A)foodswhichareparticularlyprocessedbyaddingchemicaladditives

B)foodswhichareparticularlymadebycommercialfarms

C)foodswhicharespeciallyproducedbycommercialfactories

D)foodswhicharenotspeciallymadebyaddinganything

23.Naturalfoodsmeans____.

A)foodsgoodforhealth

B)foodsnotgoodforhealth

C)foodssuchasvegetables,fruitandgrainfromrichorganicmatterssoil

D)cropsfromrichorganicmatterssoilandmeatsofanimalsfromhealthypastures

24.Therearenovitamins,nomineralsandnofibersin____.

A)naturalfoodsC)sugar

B)animalmeatsD)fruit

25.“Yetallitdoesisprovideuswithenergy,intheformofcalories.”Itmeans____.

A)processedfoodprovidesuswithenergy

B)naturalfoodfurnishesuswithvitaminsandminerals

C)sugargivesusenoughenergyintheformofcalories

D)fiberhelpsustodigestfood

Questions26to30arebasedonthefollowingpassage:

Withatremendousroarfromitsrocketengine,thesatelliteissentupintothesky.Minuteslater,atanaltitudeof300miles,thistinyelectronicmoonbeginstoorbitabouttheearth.Itsradiobeginstotransmitanastonishingamountofinformationaboutthesatellitesorbitalpath,theamountofradiationitdetects,andthepresenceofmeteorites.Informationofallkindsracesbacktotheearth.Nohumanbeingcouldpossiblycopydownallthesefacts,muchlessrememberandorganizethem.Butanelectroniccomputercan.

Themarvelofthemachineage,theelectroniccomputerhasbeeninuseonlysince1946.Itcandosimplecomputations—add,subtract,multiplyanddivide—withlightingspeedandperfectaccuracy.Somecomputerscanwork500,000timesfasterthananypersoncan.

Onceitisgivena“program”—thatis,acarefullyworkedoutsetofinstructionsdevisedbyatechniciantrainedincomputerlanguage—acomputercagatherawiderangeofinformationformanypurposes.Forthescientistitcangetinformationfromouterspaceorfromthedepthoftheocean.Inbusinessandindustrythecomputerpreparesfactoryinventories,keepstrackofsalestrendsandproductionneeds,mailsdividendchecks,andmakesoutcompanypayrolls.Itcankeepbankaccountsuptodateandmakeoutelectricbills.Ifyouareplanningatripbyplane,thecomputerwillfindoutwhattotakeandwhatspaceisavailable.

Notonlycanthecomputergatherfacts,itcanalsostorethemasfastastheyaregatheredandcanpourthemoutwhenevertheyareneeded.Thecomputerisreallyahighpowered“memory”machinethat“hasalltheanswers”—oralmostall.Besidesgatheringandstoringinformation,thecomputercanalsosolvecomplicatedproblemsthatoncetookmonthsforpeopletodo.

Attimescomputersseemalmosthuman.Theycan“read”handprintedletters,playchess,composemusic,writeplaysandevendesignothercomputers.Isitanywonderthattheyaresometimescalled“thinking”machines?

Eventhoughtheyaretakingoversomeofthetasksthatwereonceaccomplishedbyourownbrains,computersarenotreplacingusatleastnotyet.Ourbrainhasmorethan10millioncells.Acomputerhasonlyafewhundredthousandparts.

Forsometimetocome,then,wecansafelysaythatourbrainsareatleast10,000timesmorecomplexthanacomputer.Howweusethemisforus,notthecomputer,todecide.

26.Inthefirstparagraph,theauthorthinksanelectroniccomputercan____.

A)copydownallthefacts

B)rememberallthefacts

C)organizethefactsandeverything

D)copydown,rememberandorganizeallthefacts

27.“Program”means____.

A)aplanofwhatistobedone

B)acompleteshowonaTVstationatafixedtimetable

C)ascheduledperformance

D)seriesofcodedinstructionstocontroltheoperationsofacomputer

28.Thecomputerisahighpowered“memory”machine,which____.

A)hasallthereadyanswers—oralmostalltoanyquestions

B)canremembereverything

C)canstoreeverythingandworkforyou

D)hasalltheanswers—oralmosttoalltheinformationthathasbeenstored

29.“Thinking”machinessuggestthat____.

A)theycan“read”handprintedlettersetc

B)theyreallycanthinkanddomanyotherjobs

C)theyevendesignothercomputers

D)theycantthink,butcandosomethingunderhumancontrol

30.Cancomputersdowhatevertheywanttodo?Why?

A)Yes,becausesomecomputerscanwork500,000timesfasterthananypersoncan.

B)No,becausetheynormallyhaveafewhundredthousandparts.

C)No,becausehumanbrainsareatleast10000timesmorecomplexthananycomputers.

D)No,becausehowacomputerworksisdecidedbyhuman.

Questions31to35arebasedonthefollowingpassage:

NooneexpressedthisattitudemorestronglythanNoahWebster(17581843).

BornnearNartford,Connecticut,hereceivedhiseducationatYaleCollegeandlaterbegantopractiselaw.Butbusinessinthisprofessionwasslow,andhewasforcedtoturntoteaching.Asateacher,hesoondiscoveredthattheEnglishschoolbookstheninusewereunsatisfactory,andtheAmericanRevolutionreducedthesupplyofsuchbooksastherewere.WebsterthereforebegantoworkonthreesimplebooksonEnglish,aspellingbook,agrammar,andareader,andthesewerethefirstbooksoftheirkindtobepublishedinthiscountry.Thesuccessofthefirstpartwassurprisinglygreat.ItwassoonissuedagainunderthetitleTHEAMERICANSPELLINGBOOK,andinthisformabout80millioncopiesweresoldduringthenexthundredyears.Fromaprofitoflessthanonecentacopy,Webstergotmostofhisincomefortherestofhislife.Notonlydidthelittlebookhavegreatinfluenceonmanygenerationsofschoolchildren,butitalsohadtheeffectorturningitsauthorsattentiontoquestionsoflanguage.In1806heproducedasmalldictionary,andthiswasfollowedbyhisgreatestwork,ANAMERICANDICTIONARYOF

THEENGLISHLANGUAGE,publishedintwovolumesin1828.Inbothoftheseworksandinmanysmallerwritingshehadonepurpose:toshowthattheEnglsihlanguageinhiscountrywasatrulyAmericanthing,developinginitsownspecialwayanddeservingtobeconsideredfromanindependent,Americanpointofview.Ashehimselfwrote,“Itisnotonlyimportant,butinadegreenecessary,thatthepeopleofthiscountryshouldhaveanAMERICANDICTIONARYoftheEnglishlanguage;for,althoughthebodyofthelanguageisthesameasinEngland…somedifferencesexist….NopersoninthiscountrywillbesatisfiedwiththeEnglishdefinitionsofthewordscongress,senate,assembly,court,andsoforth,foralthoughthesearewordsusedinEngland,yettheyareappliedinthiscountrytoexpressideaswhichtheydonotexpressinthatcountry.”BygivingAmericanmeaningsandAmericanpronunciation,byadoptinganumberofAmericanspellings,andespeciallybyintroducingquotationsfromAmericanauthorsbesidethosefromEnglishliterature,hewasable,toagreatextent,tojustifythetitleofhiswork.If,afterahundredyears,somepeoplestilldoubttheexistenceofaseparateAmericanlanguage,hisefforts,nevertheless,haveleftalastingmarkonthelanguageofhiscountry.

31.Websterfirsttriedtoearnhislivinginthefieldof____.

A)educationC)law

B)journalismD)medicine

32.Websterearnedmostofhismoneyfromthesaleofhis____.

A)dictionaryof1828C)grammar

B)spellingbookD)reader

33.ApparentlyWebsterpublishedhisfirstbookswhilehewasa____.

A)teacherC)lawyer

B)studentD)doctor

34.Thisarticlecouldbeentitled____.

A)NoahWebsterandAmericanEnglishSpelling

B)NoahWebster,theauthorofAnAmericanDictionaryoftheEnglishLanguage

C)NoahWebster

D)NoahWebsterandAmericanEnglishGrammar

35.Accordingtothearticle,Webster____.

A)hadcreatedAmericanEnglishanditsusages

B)haddiscoveredAmericanEnglishandimprovedit

C)hadtriedhisbestandleftamilestoneonthelanguageofhiscountry

D)hadleftalanguagewhichwasnotusedinEngland.

Questions36to40arebasedonthefollowingpassage:

Onceuponatime,theUnitedStatesseemedtohaveplentyoflandtogoaround.Plentyofriverstodamandplentyofruralvalleysleftover.Plentyofspaceforparksandfactories.Plentyofforeststocutandgrasslandstoplow.Butthatwasonceuponatime.Thedaysofunusedlandareover.Nowthelandhasbeenspokenfor,fencedoff,carvedupintocitiesandfarmsandindustrialparks,puttouse.

Atthesametime,thepopulationkeepsgrowing.Peopleneedplacestoworkandplacestoplay.Soweneedmoresitesformoreindustries,morebeachesformoresunbathers,andmorecleanriversformorefishers.Anditisntjustamatterofpopulationgrowth.Ourmoderntechnologyhasneedsthatmustbemet,too.Weneedmorecoalforenergy,andweneedmorepowerplants;carsmusthavehighwaysandparkinglots,andjetsmusthaveairports.

Eachoftheselandusesswallowsuppreciousspace.Highwaysandexpresswaysalonetakesome200,000acreseachyear.Andurbansprawl—thespreadingoutofcities—isexpectedtogobbleupvastareasoflandbytheyear2,000.Butthereisonlysomuchlandtogoaround.Itisalwayshardtodecide.Take,forexample,aforest.Aforestcanbeatimbersupply.Itcanprovideahomeforwildlife.Itissceneryandarecreationareaforman.Itissoilandwatershedprotection.

36.“…theUnitedStatesseemedtoh