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2013.12
英语四级考试真题试卷（第一套）阅读
Passage One
Questions 56 to 60 are based on the
following passage.
In recent
years, a growing body of research has shown that
our appetite and food
intake are
influenced by a large number of factors besides
our biological need for energy,
including our eating environment and
our perception of the food in front of us.
Studies have shown, for instance, that
eating in front of the TV (or a similar
distraction) can
increase both hunger
and the amount of food consumed. Even simple
visual cues, like plate
size and
lighting, have been shown to affect portion size
and consumption.
A new study suggested
that our short-term memory also may play a role in
appetite.
Several hours after a meal,
people's hunger levels were predicted not by how
much they'd
eaten but rather by how
much food they'd seen in front of them-in other
words, how much
they remembered eating.
This
disparity(
差异
) suggests the
memory of our previous meal may have a bigger
influence
on our appetite than the
actual size of the meal, says Jeffrey M.
Brunstrom, a professor of
experimental
psychology at the University of Bristol.
identified an independent
role for memory for that meal,
the
relationship between hunger and food intake is
more complex than we thought.
These
findings echo earlier research that suggests our
perception of food can sometimes
trick
our body's response to the food itself. In a 2011
study, for instance, people who drank
the same
380-calorie(
卡路里
) milkshake
on two separate occasions produced different
levels of hunger-related
hormones(
荷尔蒙
), depending on
whether the shake's label said it
contained 620 or 140 calories.
Moreover, the participants reported feeling more
full when
they thought they'd consumed
a higher-calorie shake.
What does this
mean for our eating habits? Although it hardly
seems practical to trick
ourselves into
eating less, the new findings do highlight the
benefits of focusing on our food
and
avoiding TV and multitasking while eating.
The so-called mindful-eating strategies
can fight distractions and help us control our
appetite, Brunstrom says.
56. What is said to be a factor
affecting our appetite and food intake?
A) How we perceive the food we eat.
B) What ingredients the
food contains.
C) When we
eat our meals.
D) How fast we eat our
meals.
57. What would happen at meal
time if you remembered eating a lot in the
previous meal?
A) You would probably be
more picky about food.
B) You would not
feel like eating the same food.
C) You
would have a good appetite.
D) You
would not feel so hungry.
58. What do
we learn from the 2011 study?
A) Food
labels may mislead consumers in their purchases.
B) Food labels may influence our body's
response to food.
C) Hunger levels
depend on one's consumption of calories.
D) People tend to take in a lot more
calories than necessary.
59. What does
Brunstrom suggest we do to control our appetite?
A) Trick ourselves into eating less.
B) Choose food with fewer
calories.
C) Concentrate on
food while eating.
D) Pick dishes of
the right size.
60. What is the main
idea of the passage?
A) Eating
distractions often affect our food digestion.
B) Psychological factors influence our
hunger levels.
C) Our food intake is
determined by our biological needs.
D)
Good eating habits will contribute to our health.
Passage Two
Questions 61 to 65 are based on the
following passage.
As a
society we might want to rethink the time and
money spent on education, so that these
resources can benefit a greater
percentage of the population. Ideally, both high
schools and
colleges can prepare
individuals for the ever-changing roles that are
likely to be expected of
them.
High school degrees offer far less in
the way of preparation for work than they might,
or
than many other nations currently
offer, creating a growing skills gap in our
economy. We
encourage students to go on
to college whether they are prepared or not. or
have a clear
sense of purpose or
interest, and now have the highest college dropout
rate in the world.
We might look to
other countries for models of how high schools can
offer better training,
as well as the
development of a work ethic
(
勤奋工作的美德
) and the
intellectual skills
needed for
continued learning and development. 1 recommend
Harvard's 2011
to
Prosperity
college) and ideas about how
to address this issue.
Simultaneously,
the liberal arts become more important than ever.
In a knowledge
economy where
professional roles change rapidly and many college
students are preparing
for positions
that may not even exist yet, the skill set needed
is one that prepares them for
change
and continued learning.
Learning to
express ideas well in both writing and speech,
knowing how to find information,
and
knowing how to do research are all solid
background skills for a wide variety of roles,
and such training is more important
than any particular major in a liberal arts
college. We
need to continue to value
broad preparation in thinking skills that will
serve for a lifetime.
Students also
need to learn to work independently and to make
responsible decisions. The
lengthening
path to adulthood appears
exacerbated(
恶化
) by parental
involvement in the
college years. Given
the rising investment in college education,
parental concern is not
surprising, but
learning where and when to
intervene(
干预
) will help
students take more
ownership of the
outcomes of these increasingly costly educations.
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡
2
上作答。
61. What kind
of education does the author think is ideal?
A) It benefits the great majority of
the general population.
B) It prepares
students to meet the future needs of society.
C) It encourages students to learn
throughout their lives.
D) It ensures
that students' expectations are successfully
fulfilled.
62. What does the author say
is the problem with present high school education?
A) Ignoring the needs of those who
don't go to college.
B) Teaching skills
to be used right after graduation only.
C) Giving little attention to those
having difficulty learning.
D) Creating
the highest dropout rate in the developed world.
63. What characterizes a knowledge
economy according to the passage?
A)
People have to receive higher education to qualify
for a professional position.
B)
Students majoring in liberal arts usually have
difficulty securing a job.
C) New
positions are constantly created that require
people to keep learning.
D) Colleges
find it hard to teach students how to cope with
the changing economy.
64. What does the
author think a liberal arts college should focus
on?
A) Solid background knowledge in a
particular field.
B) Practical skills
urgently needed in current society.
C)
Basic skills needed for change and lifelong
learning.
D) Useful thinking skills for
advanced academic research.
65. What
suggestion does the author offer to parents?
A) Rethinking the value of higher
education.
B) Investing wisely in their
children's education.
C) Helping their
children to bring their talent into full play.
D) Avoiding too much intervention in
their children's education.
第二套
Passage One
Questions 56 to 60 are based on the
following passage.
A recent
global survey of 2000 high-net-worth individuals
found that 60% were not
planning on a
traditional retirement. Among US participants, 75%
expected to continue
working in some
capacity even after stepping away from full-time
jobs.
people made their wealth by doing
something they're passionate
(
有激情的
)
about.
Daniel Egan, head of behavioral
finance for Barclays Wealth Americas.
they prefer to continue
working.
Unlike many Americans compelled
into early retirement by company restrictions, the
average nevertiree often has no one
forcing his hand. If 106-year-old investor Irving
Kahn,
head of his own family firm,
wants to keep coming to work every day. who's
going to stop
him? Seventy-eight-year-
old Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's
job security is
guaranteed in the
Constitution.
It may seem that these
elderly people are trying to cheat death. In fact,
they are. And it's
working. Howard
Friedman, a professor at UC Riverside, found in
his research that those
who work
hardest and are successful in their careers often
live the longest lives.
generally being
given bad advice to slow down, take it easy, stop
worrying, and retire to
Florida,
was recently
disappointed to see his son retire.
co-director of the Institute
of Population Ageing at Oxford. Where once
retirement was
seen as a brief reward
after a long struggle through some miserable job,
it is now akin
(
近
似
) to being
cast aside. What Leeson terms
broadly
appealing as individuals come to
economic productivity but also about
contribution.
Observers are split on
whether this is a wholly good thing. On the one
hand, companies and
financial firms can
benefit from the wisdom of a
resilient(
坚韧的
) chief. On the
other, the
new generation can find it
more difficult to advance-an argument that
typically holds little
sway to a
nevertiree.
56. What do we
learn about the so-called
A) They are
passionate about making a fortune.
B)
They have no choice but to continue working.
C) They love what they do and choose
not to retire.
D) They will not retire
unless they are compelled to.
57. What
do Irving Kahn and Ruth Bader Ginsburg have in
common?
A) Neither of them is subject
to forced retirement.
B) Neither of
them desires reward for their work.
C)
Both cling to their positions despite opposition.
D) Both are capable of coping with
heavy workloads.
58. What is the
finding of Howard Friedman's research?
A) The harder you work, the bigger your
fortune will be.
B) The earlier you
retire, the healthier you will be.
C)
Elderly people have to slow down to live longer.
D) Working at an advanced age lengthens
people's life.
59. What is the
traditional view of retirement according to the
passage?
A) It means a burden to the
younger generation.
B) It is a symbol
of a mature and civilized society.
C)
It is a compensation for one's life-long hard
work.
D) It helps increase a nation's
economic productivity.
60. What do
critics say about
A) They are an
obstacle to a company's development.
B)
They lack the creativity of the younger
generation.
C) They cannot work as
efficiently as they used to.
D) They
prevent young people from getting ahead.
Passage Two
Questions 61 to 65 are based on the
following passage.