大学英语四级考试模拟试卷及参考答案(第一套)

大学英语四级考试模拟试卷及参考答案

(

第

一套）

Part II Reading Comprehension (35 minutes)

Directions: There are 4 reading passages in this part. Each passage is foll

owed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are fou

r choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and ma

rk the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the

center. Passage One

Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.

There is a difference between science and technology. Science is a method o

f answering theoretical questions; technology is a method of solving practical

problems. Science has to do with discovering the facts and relationships betwee

n observable phenomena in nature and with establishing theories that serve to o

rganize these facts and relationships; technology has to do with tools, techniq

ues, and procedures for implementing the finding of science.

Another distinction between science and technology has to do with the progr

ess in each.

Progress in science excludes the human factor. Scientists, who seek to comp

rehend the universe and know the truth within the highest degree of accuracy an

d certainty, cannot pay attention to their own or other people's likes or disli

kes or to popular ideas about the fitness of things. What scientists discover m

ay shock or anger people-as did Darwin's theory of evolution. But even an unple

asant truth is more than likely to be useful; besides, we have the choice of re

fusing to believe it! But hardly so with technology; we do not have the choice

of refusing to hear the sonic boom produced by a supersonic aircraft flying ove

rhead; we do not have the option of refusing to breathe polluted air; and we do

not have the option of living in a non-atomic age. Unlike science progress, te

chnology must be measured in terms of the human factor. The legitimate purpose

of technology is to serve people in general, not merely some people; and future

generations, not merely those who presently wish to gain advantage for themsel

ves. Technology must be humanistic if it is to lead to a better world.

21. The difference between science and technology lies in that _____.

A) the former provides answers to theoretical questions while the latter to

practical problems

B) the former seeks to comprehend the universe while the latter helps chang

e the material world

C) the former aims to discover the inter-connections of facts and the rules

that explain them while the latter, to discover new designs and ways of making

the things we use in our daily life

D) all of the above

22. Which of the following may be representative of science?

A) The improvement of people's life.

B) The theory of people's life.

C) Farming tools.

D) Mass production.

23. According to the author, scientific theories _____.

A) must be strictly objective

B) usually take into consideration people's likes and dislikes

C) should conform to popular opinions

D) always appear in perfect and finished forms

24. The author states that technology itself _____.

A) is responsible for widespread pollution and resource exhaustion

B) should serve those who wish to gain advantage for themselves

C) will lead to a better world if put to wise use

D) will inevitably be for bad purpose

25. The tone of the author in this passage is _____.

A) positive B) negative C) factual D) critical Passage Two

Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.

Americans have always been ambivalent in their attitudes toward education.

On the one hand, free and universal public education was seen as necessary in a

democracy, for how else would citizens learn how to govern themselves in a res

ponsible way? On the other hand, America was always a country that offered fina

ncial opportunities for which education was not needed: on the road from rags t

o riches, schooling-beyond the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic-was a

n unnecessary detour.

Even today, it is still possible for people to achieve financial success wi

thout much education, but the number of situations in which this is possible is

decreasing. In today's more complex world, the opportunities for financial suc

cess is closely related to the need for education, especially higher education.

Our society is rapidly becoming one whose chief product is information, and

dealing with this information requires more and more specialized education. In

other words, we grow up learning more and more about fewer and fewer subjects.

In the future, this trend is likely to continue. Tomorrow's world will be e

ven more complex than today's world, and, to manage this complexity, even more

specialized education will be needed.

26. The topic treated in this passage is _____.

A) education in general B) Americans' attitudes

C) higher education D) American education

27. Americans' attitudes toward education have always been _____.

A) certain B) contradictory C) ambitious D) unclear

28. Today, financial success is closely related to the need for _____.

A) higher education B) public education C) responsible citizens D) learning

the basics

29. It can be inferred from the third paragraph that _____.

A) information is our only product

B) education in the future will be specialized

C) we are entering an age of information

D) we are living in an age of information

30. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A) The History of American Education.

B) The Need for Specialized Education.

C) The Future of the American Educational System.

D) Attitudes toward American Education. Passage Three

Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage.

A growing world population and the discoveries of science may alter this pa

ttern of distribution in the future. As men slowly learn to master diseases, co

ntrol floods, prevent famines, and stop wars, fewer people die every year; and

in consequence the population of the world is steadily increasing. In 1925 ther

e were about 2,000 million people in the world; by the end of the century there

may well be over 4,000 million.

When numbers rise the extra mouths must be fed. New lands must be brought u

nder cultivation, or land already farmed made to yield larger crops. In some ar

eas the accessible land is so intensively cultivated that it will be difficult

to make it provide more food. In some areas the population is so dense that the

land is parceled out in units too tiny to allow for much improvement in farmin

g methods. Were a large part of this farming population drawn off into industri

al occupations, the land might be farmed much more productively by modern metho

ds. There is now a race for science, technology, and industry to keep the outpu

t of food rising faster than the number of people to be fed. New strains of cro

ps are being developed which will thrive in unfavorable climates: there are now

farms beyond the Arctic Circle in Siberia and North America; irrigation and dr

y-farming methods bring arid lands under the plough, dams hold back the waters

of great rivers to ensure water for the fields in all seasons and to provide el

ectric power for new industries; industrial chemistry provides fertilizers to s

uit particular soils; aeroplanes spray crops to destroy locusts and many plant

diseases. Every year some new means is devised to increase or to protect the fo

od of the world.

31. The author says that the world population is growing because _____.

A) there are many rich valleys and fertile plains

B) the pattern of distribution is being altered

C) people are living longer

D) new land is being brought under cultivation

32. The author says that in densely populated areas the land might be more

productively farmed if _____.

A) the plots were subdivided

B) a large part of the people moved to a different part of the country

C) industrial methods were used in farming

D) the units of land were made much larger

33. We are told that there are now farms beyond the Arctic Circle. This has

been made possible by _____.

A) producing new strains of crops

B) irrigation and dry-farming methods

C) providing fertilizers

D) destroying pests and disease

34. Which of these words is nearest in meaning to the word

A) types B) sizes C) seeds D) harvests

35. The author's main purpose is to _____.

A) argue for a belief B) describe a phenomenon

C) entertain D) propose a conclusion Passage Four

Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage.

For some time past it has been widely accepted that babies-and other creatu

res-learn to do things because certain acts lead to

reason to doubt that this is true. But it used also to be widely believed that

effective rewards, at least in the early stages, had to be directly related to

such basic physiological(

生理的

)

a baby would learn if he got food or drink or some sort of physical comfort, no

t otherwise.

It is now clear that this is not so. Babies will learn to behave in ways th

at produce results in the world with no reward except the successful outcome.

Papousek began his studies by using milk in the normal way to

babies and so teach them to carry out some simple movements, such as turning th

e head to one side or the other. Then he noticed that a baby who had had enough

to drink would refuse the milk but would still go on making the learned respon

se with clear signs of pleasure. So he began to study the children's responses

in situations where no milk was provided. He quickly found that children as you

ng as four months would learn to turn their heads to right or left if the movem

ent

ning quite complex turns to bring about this result, for instance, two left or

two right, or even to make as many as three turns to one side.

Papousek's light display was placed directly in front of the babies and he

made the interesting observation that sometimes they would not turn back to wat

ch the lights closely although they would

ame on. Papousek concluded that it was not primarily the sight of the lights wh

ich pleased them, it was the success they were achieving in solving the problem,

in mastering the skill, and that there exists a fundamental human urge to make

sense of the world and bring it under intentional control.

36. According to the author, babies learn to do things which . A) are direc

tly related to pleasure B) will meet their physical needs

C) will bring them a feeling of success D) will satisfy their curiosity

37. Papousek noticed in his studies that a baby .

A) would make learned responses when it saw the milk

B) would carry out learned movements when it had enough to drink