度全国英语专业四级试题及答案(4)_4

度全国英语专业四级试题及答案

(4)

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

way

in

which

people

use

social

space

reflects

their

social

relationships and their ethnic identity. Early immigrants to America from

Europe brought with them a collective style of living, which they retained

until

late

in

the

18th

century.

Historical

records

document

a

group-oriented

existence,

in

which

one

room

was

used

for

eating,

entertaining guests, and sleeping. People ate soups from a sommunal pot,

shared

drinking

cups,

and

used

a

common

pit

toilet.

With

the

development of ideas about individualism, people soon began to shift to

the use

of

individual

cups

and

plates;

the

eating

of

meals

that

included

meat,

bread,

and

vegetables

served

on

separate

plates;

and

the

use

of

private toilets. They began to build their houses with separate rooms to

entertain

guests-living

rooms,

separate

bedrooms

for

sleeping,

separate

work areas-kitchen, laundry room, and separate bathrooms.

In

Mexico,

the

meaning

and

organization

of

domestic

space

is

strikingly

different.

Houses

are

organized

around

a

patio

,

or

courtyard.

Rooms

open

onto

the

patio,

where

all

kinds

of

domestic

activities take place. Individuals to not have separate bedrooms. Children

often sleep with parents, and brothers or sisters share a bed, emphasizing

familial

interdependence.

Rooms

in

Mexican

houses

are

locations

for

multiple

activities

that,

in

contrast,

are

rigidly

separated

in

the

United

States.

66. Changes in living styles among early immigrants were initially

brought about by ____.

living standards

concepts

customs

designs of houses

67. Which of the following is NOT discussed in the passage?

concepts of domestic space.

social relationships.

functions of their rooms.

layout of their houses.

TEXT B

There

are

superstitions

attached

to

numbers;

even

those

ancient

Greeks believed that all numbers and their multiples had some mystical

significance.

Those

numbers

between

1

and

13

were

in

particular

to

have

a

powerful influence over the affairs of men.

For example, it is commonly said that luck, good or bad, comes in

threes;

if

an

accident

happens,

two

more

of

the

same

kind

may

be

expected soon afterwards. The arrival of a letter will be followed by two

others within a certain period.

Another belief involving the number three has it that it is unlucky to

light

three

cigarettes

from

the

one

match.

If

this

happens,

the

bad

luck

that goes with the deed falls upon the person whose cigarette was the last

to

be

lit.

The

ill-omen

linked

to

the

lighting

of

three

things

from

one

match

or

candle

goes

back

to

at

least

the

17th

century

and

probably

earlier. It was believed that three candles alight at the same time would be

sure to bring bad luck; one, two, or four, were permissible, but never just

three.

Seven was another significant number, usually regarded as a bringer

of

good

luck.

The

ancient

astrologers

believed

that

the

universe

was

governed

by

seven

planets;

students

of

Shakespeare

will

recall

that

the

life

of

man

was

divided

into

seven

ages.

Seven

horseshoes

nailed

to

a

house will protect it from all evil.

Nine

is

usually

thought

of

as

a

lucky

number

because

it

is

the

product of three times three. It was much used by the Anglo Saxons in

their charms for healing.

and

Another

belief

was

that

great

changes

occurred

every

7th

9th

of a man

’

s life. Consequently, the age of 63(the product of nine

and seven) was thought to be a very perilous time for him. If he survived

his 63rd

year he might hope to live to a ripe old age.

Thirteen,

as

we

well

know,

is

regarded

with

great

awe

and

fear.

The

common

belief

is

that

this

derives

from

the

fact

that

there

were 13 people at Christ

’

s Last Supper. This being the eve of his betrayal,

it is not difficult to understand the significance given to the number by

the early Christians.

In

more

modern

times

13

is

an

especially

unlucky

number

of

a

dinner party, for example. Hotels will avoid numbering a floor the 13th

;

the progression is from 12 to 14, and no room is given the number 13.

Many

home

owners

will

use

12

1/2

instead

of

13

as

their

house

number.

Yet

oddly

enough,

to

be

born

on

the

13th

of

the

month

is

not

regarded with any fear at all, which just shows how irrational we are in

our superstitious beliefs.

68.

According

to

the

passage,

which

of

the

following

groups

of

numbers will certainly bring good luck to people?

A.3 and 7.

B.3 and 9.

C.7 and 9.

D.3 and 13.

69. The ill luck associated with 13 is supposed to have its origin in

____.

on

r belief

n customs

70. What is the author

’

s attitude towards people

’

s superstitious

beliefs?

is mildly critical.

is strongly critical.

is in favour of them.

attitude is not clear.

TEXT C

Women

’

s minds work differently from men

’

s. At least, that is

what most men are convinced of. Psychologists view the subject either as

a matter or frustration or a joke. Now the biologists have moved into this

minefield,

and

some

of

them

have

found

that

there

are

real

differences

between the brains of men and women. But being different, they point out

hurriedly, is not the same as being better or worse.

There is, however, a definite structural variation between the male

and female brain. The difference is in a part of the brain that is used in the

most

complex

intellectual

processes-the

link

between

the

two

halves

of

the brain.

The two halves are linked by a trunkline of between 200 and 300

million

nerves,

the

recently

that

the

corpus

callosum

.

Scientists

have

found

quite

corpus

callosum

in

women

is

always

larger

and

probably richer in nerve fibres than it is in men. This is the first time that

a structural difference has been found between the brains of women and

men and it must have some significance. The question is “What?”, and,

if

this difference exists, are there others? Research shows that present-day

women think differently and behave differently from men. Are some of

these differences biological and inborn, a result of evolution? We tend to

think that is the influence of society that produces these differences. But

could we be wrong?

Research showed that these two halves of the brain had different

functions,

and

that

the

corpus

callosum

enabled

them

to

work

together. For most people, the left half is used for wordhanding, analytical

and logical activities; the right half works on pictures, patterns and forms.

We

need

both

halves

working

together.

And

the

better

the

connections,

the more harmoniously the two halves work. And, according to research

findings, women have the better connections.

But it isn

’

t all that easy to explain the actual differences between