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..
2001
英语专四真题及答案
四。阅读
A
Part Ⅵ READING COMPREHENSION
［
30 MIN
。］
SECTION A READING COMPREHENSION
［
25
MIN
。］
In this
section there are four passages followed by
questions or unfinished
statements
，
each
with four suggested
answers marked
A
，
B
，
C and D
。
Choose
the one that you think is
the best answer
。
Mark your answers on your answer
sheet
。
TEXT A
The train clattered over points and
passed through a
station
。
Then it began
suddenly to slow
down
，
presumably in
obedience to a signal
。
For
some minutes it
crawled
along
，
then stopped;
presently it began to move forward
again
。
Another
up
－
train passed
them
，
though with less
vehemence than the first
one
。
The train
gathered
speed
again
。
At
that
moment
another
train
，
also
on
a
down
< br>－
line
，
swerved
inwards towards
them
，
for a moment with
almost alarming effect
。
For
a time the
two trains ran
parallel
，
now
，
one gaining a
little
，
now the
other
。
Mrs
。
McGillicuddy
looked from her window through the window of the
parallelcarriages
。
Most
of
the
blinds
were
down
，
but
occasionally
the
occupants
of
the
carriages
were
visible
。
The
other train was not very full and there were many
empty carriages
。
At the moment when the two trains gave
the illusion of being
stationary
，
ablind
in
one
of
the
carriages
flew
up
with
a
snap
。
Mrs
。
McGillicuddy
looked
intothe
lighted
first
－
class
carriage that was only a few feet
away
。
Then she
drew her breath in with a gasp and
half
－
rose to her
feet
。
Standing
with his back to the window and to her was a
man
。
His hands were round
the
throat
of
a
woman
who
faced
him
，
and
he
was
slowly
，
remorselessly
，
strangling
her
。
Her eyes
were starting from their
sockets
，
her face was
purple
。
As
Mrs
。
McGillicuddy
watched
，
fascinated
，
the end came;
the body went limp and crumpled
in the
man’s hands。
At the same
moment
，
Mrs
。
M
cGillicuddy’s train slowed down again
and the other
;.
..
began to gain
speed
。
It passed forward and
a moment or two later it had vanished
from sight
。
Almost automatically
Mrs
。
McGillicuddy’s
hand went
up to the communicationcord，
then
paused
，
irresolute
。
After
all
，
what
use
would
it
be
ringing
the
cord
of
the
train in which she was
travelling
？
The horror of
what she had seen at such close
quarters
，
and
the
unusual
circumstances
，
made
her
feel
paralysed
。
Some
immediate
action was
necessary
，—
but
what
？
The
door
of
her
compartment
was
drawn
back
and
a
ticket
collector
said
，
“Ticket，
please
。”
66
。
When
Mrs
。
McGuillicuddy’s train passed through a
station，
it___
。
A
。
gained
speed
suddenly
B
。
kept
its
usual
speed
immediately
67
。
Mrs
。
McGuillicuddy seems to
be a
（
an
）
___ person
。
A
。
observant
B
。
interested
C
。
nosy
D
。
nervous
68
。
What she saw
in the parallel train made her
feel___
。
A
。
excited
B
。
anxious
C
。
worried
D
。
horrified
69
。
She didn’t ring the communication cord
immediately
b
ecause___
。
A
。
she was very
much afraid
C
。
changed
its
speed
D
。
stopped
B
。
there was no
point of doing
so
C
。
she was too
shocked to move
D
。
the ticket
collector came in
TEXT B
I
am
one
of
the
many
city
people
who
are
always
saying
that
given
the
choice
we
would
prefer
to
live
in
the
country
away
from
the
dirt
and
noise
of
a
large
city
。
I
have
managed to convince
myself that if it weren’t for my job I would
immediately head
out for the open
spaces and go back to nature in some sleepy
village buried in the
county
。
But how
realistic is the dream
？
Cities can be frightening
places
。
The majority of the
population live in massive
tower
blocks
，
noisy
，
dirty
and
impersonal
。
The
sense
of
belonging
to
a
community
tends
to
disappear
when
you
live
fifteen
floors
up
。
All
you
can
see
from
your
window
is
sky
，
or
other
blocks
of
fiats
。
Children
become
aggressive
and
nervous
－
cooped
up
at
home
all
day
，
with
nowhere
to
play;
their
mothers
feel
isolated
from
the
rest
;.
..
of
the
world
。
Strangely
enough
，
whereas
in
the
past
the
inhabitants
of
one
street
all
knew
each
other
，
nowadays
people
on
the
same
floor
in
tower
blocks
don’t
even
say hello to each
other
。
Country
life
，
on
the
other
hand
，
differs
from
this
kind
of
isolated
existence
in
that
a
sense
of
community
generally
binds
the
inhabitants
of
small
villages
together
。
People have the advantage of knowing
that there is always someone to turn to when
they
need
help
。
But
country
life
has
disadvantages
too
。
While
it
is
true
that
you
may be
among friends in a village
，
it is also true that you are cut off from the
exciting
and
important
events
that
take
place
in
cities
。
There’s
little
possibility
of
going
to
a
new
show
or
the
latest
movie
。
Shopping
becomes
a
major
problem
，
and
for anything slightly out of the
ordinary you have to goon an expedition to the
nearest
large
town
。
The
city
－
dweller
who
leaves
for
thecountry
is
often
oppressed
by a sense of unbearable stillness and
quiet
。
What
，
then
，
is the
answer
？
The country has the
advantage of peace and
quiet
，
but
suffers from the disadvantage of being cut
off
：
the city breeds a
feeling of
isolation
，
and
constant
noise
batters
the
senses
。
But
one
of
its
main
advantages
is that you are at the centre of
things
，
and that
life doesn’t come to an end at
half
－
past
nine
at
night
。
Some
people
have
found
（
or
rather
bought
）
a
compromise
between the
two
：
they have
expressed their preference for the “quiet life” by
leaving
the
suburbs
and
moving
to
villages
within
commuting
distance
of
large
cities
。
They generally have about as much
sensitivity as the plastic flowers they leave
behind
—
they
are
polluted
with
strange
ideas
about
change
and
improvement
which
they
force on to the
unwilling original inhabitants of the
villages
。
What
then of my dreams of leaning on a cottage gate and
murmuring “morning” to
the locals as
they pass by
。
I’m
keen on the idea
，
but you see there’s my cat，
Toby
。
I’m not at all sure that he would take
to all that fresh air and exercise
in
the
long
grass
。
I
mean
，
can
you
see
him
mixing
with
all
those
hearty
malesdown
the
farm
？
No
，
he
would
rather
have
the
electric
imitation
－
coal
fire
any
evening
。
70
。
We get the
impression from the first paragraph that the
author___
。
A
。
used to live
in the country
B
。
used to work
in the city
;.
..
C
。
works in the
city
D
。
lives in the
country
71
。
In
the author’s opinion，
the following may
cause city people to be unhappy
EXCEPT___
。
A
。
a strong sense
of fear B
。
lack of
communication
a sense of isolation
72
。
The
passage
implies
that
it
is
easy
to
buy’
the
following
things
in
the
country
EXCEPT___
A
。
daily
necessities
B
。
fresh
fruits
C
。
designer
clothes
D
。
fresh
vegetables
C
。
housing
conditions D
。
73
。
According
to
the
passage
，
which
of
the
following
adjectives
best
describes
those people who
work in large cities and live in
villages
？
A
。
Original
。
B
。
Quiet
。
C
。
Arrogant
。
D
。
Insensitive
。
74
。
Do you think
the author will move to the
country
？
A
。
Yes
，
he
will
do
so
。
B
。
No
，
he
will
not
do
so
。
D
。
He is in two minds
。
TEXT C
Traditionally
，
the
woman
has
held
a
low
position
in
marriage
partnerships
。
While
her husband
went
his way
，
she
had to wash
，
stitch and
sew
。
Today the
move is
to
liberate
the
woman
，
which
may
in
the
end
strengthen
the
marriage
union
。
Perhaps
the greatest obstacle to friendship
in marriage
is the amount a
couple
usually
see
of
each
other
。
Friendship
in
its
usual
sense
is
not
tested
by
the
strain
of
daily
，
year
－
long
cohabitation
。
Couples need
to take up separate interests
（
and
friendship
）
as
well as mutually shared
ones
，
if they are not to get
used to the
more attractive elements of
each other
’s personalities。
Married couples are likely to exert
themselves for guests
－
being amusing
，
discussing
with passion and point
—
and
then to fall into dull exhausted silence
when the guests have
gone
。
As in all
friendship
，
a husband and
wife
must
try to
interest each other
，
and to
spend sufficient time sharing absorbing
activities to give them continuing common
interests
。
But at
the same time they must spend enough time on
separateinterests
with
separate
people
to
preserve
and
develop
their
separate
personalities
and
keep
their
relationship
;.
C
。
It
is
difficult
to
tell
。
..
fresh
。
For
too
many
highly
intelligent
working
women
，
home
represents
chore
obligations
，
because the husband only tolerates her
work and does not participate in household
chores
。
For
too
many
highly
intelligent
working
men
，
home
represents
dullness
and
complaints
－
from an
over
－
dependent wife who will
not gather courageto make her
own
life
。
In
such
an
atmosphere
，
the
partners
grow
further
and
further
apart
，
both
love
and
liking
disappearing
。
For
too
many
couples
with
children
，
the
children
are
allowed
to command all time
and attention
，
allowing the
couple no time to develop liking
and
friendship
，
as well as
love
，
allotting them
exclusive parental roles
。
75
。
According to
the passage
，
which of the
following statements is
CORRECT
？
A
。
Friendship in
marriage means daily
，
year
－
long
cohabitation
。
B
。
Friendship can
be kept fresh by both separate and shared
interests
。
C
。
Friendship in
marriage is based on developing similar
interests
。
D
。
Friendship in
marriage is based on developing separate
interest
。
76
。
The passage
suggests that married couples
become___
。
A
。
unfriendly
with guests
B
。
uninterested in guests
C
。
hostile when guests have
left
D
。
quiet when
guest have left
77
。
The passage
seems to indicate at the end that
children___
。
A
。
help couples
reinforce their friendship
B
。
make no impact
on the quality of
friendship
C
。
may
pose obstacles in marital friendship
D
。
command less
time and care than expected
TEXT D
Sending a
child to school in England is a step which many
parents do not find easy
to
take
。
In
theory
，
at
least
，
the problem is that
there are very many choices
to
make
。
Let
us
try
to
list
some
of
the
alternatives
between
which
parents
are
forced
to
decide
。
To begin
with
，
they may ask
themselves whether they would like their
child to go to a
single
－
sex school or a
co
－
educational
school
。
They may also
consider
whether
he
should
go
to
a
school
which
is
connected
to
a
particular
church
;.