公共英语四级-43及答案解析.doc

1、公共英语四级-43 及答案解析(总分：100.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、Section Reading Co(总题数：0，分数：0.00)二、Part A(总题数：0，分数：0.00)三、Text 1(总题数：1，分数：15.00)Paul Johnson“s A History Of The American People is what we have come to expect from this productive writerclear, colorful narrative, vivid character sketches, marvelous research, sw

2、eeping, confident statements, and an insistent conservative viewpoint which tempts him into serious omissions. He will not conceal his opinions, he tells us. Good. Then we can judge his history free of pretences to objectivityhis or ours. Almost at start, we notice something interesting: Johnson pas

3、ses quickly over a defining moment in American historythe Columbus storyimportant because it is the first lesson every American schoolchild learns. How you treat that storywhat you choose to tell of itsignals your view of the longer American experience, reaching to our time. In school textbooks, Col

4、umbus has always been presented as a hero. Only recently has a new set of factsalways available but ignoredbegun to get into public attention: that Columbus, on landing, and desperate for gold, encountered native Americans who were peaceful and generous (by his own admission) and tortured them, kidn

5、apped them, enslaved them, murdered them. Johnson, who goes into much detail about other matters (like Ronald Reagan“s jokes) is silent on this. Among his numerous references there is none to Bartolome de las Casas, an eyewitness, who described in detail the horrifying evils committed by Columbus an

6、d his fellowmen against the Indians, which resulted in the native population of Hispaniola being wiped out genocide is an appropriate termby the year 1550. I suggest this is not an innocent omission. Johnson wants us to look positively on the history of the United States. Yes, he says, there were “s

7、evere wrongs“ committed in “the dispossession of a native people“ and in the institution of slavery. But has the US, he asks at the start of his book, “made up for its organic sins“? His whole book suggests that it has, and that in doing so it has become (he says at the end) “a human achievement wit

8、hout parallel, the first, best hope for the human race“. Since Johnson has decided that the US is “the first, best hope for the human race“, he has shaped its history accordingly. If we prefer to see that history as a complex and unfinished struggle of Americans for justice, against militarism, for

9、economic, racial and sexual equality, we are badly served by a flattering admiration of those in power, pretending to be a history of “the people“.（分数：15.00）(1).The first paragraph shows that the author“s opinion of the book A History Of The American People is（分数：3.00）A.critical.B.objective.C.defens

10、ive.D.admiring.(2).The way people have been treating Columbus story indicates their view of（分数：3.00）A.the American school education.B.great heroes in American history.C.the development of American history.D.the American society at present.(3).The book makes no reference to Bartolome de las Casas pro

11、bably because Paul Johnson（分数：3.00）A.is a writer fond of omissions.B.isn“t tempted to make references.C.bears an inborn hatred for horrifying evils.D.doesn“t want to see the image of the US stained.(4).The word “genocide“ (Line 8, Paragraph 3) most probably means（分数：3.00）A.killing of people of a par

12、ticular race.B.driving-out of native inhabitants.C.extinction of a whole generation.D.assimilation of ethnic groups.(5).The author would agree with the statement that the US（分数：3.00）A.has compensated the natives for their earlier sufferings.B.has never committed serious evils to the natives in histo

13、ry.C.has not undone the wrongs committed in history.D.has become the best hope for the human race.四、Text 2(总题数：1，分数：15.00)In the 21st century there“s no doubt that frightening new infectious diseases will appear. Today new viruses are coming out of nature and “discovering“ the human species. Just si

14、nce 1994, at least 30 new viruses have appeared. Viruses are moving into the human species because there are more of us all the time. From a virus“ point of view, we look like a free lunch that“s getting bigger. In nature viral diseases tend to break out when populations increase rapidly and become

15、densely packed. Then many deaths occur and the population drops. This is nature“s population-control mechanism. There is no reason to think the human race is free from the laws of nature. Giving these laws an extra push will be the rise of megacitieshuge densely packed cities in less developed natio

16、ns. A United Nations study predicts that by the year 2015, there will be 26 extremely big cities on the planet. By then, some megacities could have 30 million or more people. That is approximately the total population of California. Imagine all the people in California crowded together tightly into

17、one vast city. Then remove most doctors and medical care, take away basic sanitation and hygiene, and you have a biological “time bomb“. Now make eight or ten such “bombs“ and plant them around the world. Alto consider the biological weapons the world will be capable of producing in the future. The

18、20th century saw the creation of great and terrible weapons based on the principles of nuclear physics. The 21st century will see great and terrible weapons based on the knowledge of DNA and the genetic code. As biotechnology becomes more sophisticated and powerful, biologists will learn how to mix

19、genes of different microbes to create unnatural strains that can be turned into deadly, effective weapons. Biological weapons are a disgrace to biology. Most biologists haven“t wanted to talk or even think about them. The physicists lost their innocence when the first nuclear bomb went off in 1945.

20、The biologists will lose their innocence when the first biological weapon spreads through the human species. Yet the 20th century survived despite the existence of the nuclear bomb. There was great economic and scientific progress and much human happiness. The same can be true in the next century. W

21、e may not completely win the 21st century microbe war, but I am confident that we won“t lose it.（分数：15.00）(1).Infectious diseases are more likely to occur where（分数：3.00）A.different human races are mixed in living.B.many people live in crowded communities.C.population drops due to nature“s control me

22、chanism.D.new viruses appear for the first time.(2).It can be seen from the text that the author views extremely large cities as a(n)（分数：3.00）A.possible control mechanism of the nature.B.terrible burden in terms of public sanitation and hygiene.C.potential biological threat to human health.D.inevita

23、ble outcome of the law of nature.(3).The author implies in the text that（分数：3.00）A.weapons now fall into quite different categories.B.biological war may break out any time.C.most scientists are against nuclear weapons.D.science is liable to be used to create great evils.(4).As to the solution of the

24、 problems in the future, the author appears to be（分数：3.00）A.somewhat doubtful.B.much skeptical.C.moderately optimistic.D.extremely desperate.(5).What does the text mainly discuss?（分数：3.00）A.Threats from the new microbes in the next century.B.How new viruses affect the human society.C.What megacities

25、 may bring to human species.D.The disastrous effect of nuclear and biological weapons.五、Text 3(总题数：1，分数：15.00)Given the fact that each person is only one of approximately 90 million voters in this country, does it make sense to believe that one person“s participation, one vote, will have any impact

26、on a major election? Simply to raise the question “What if everyone felt the same way?“ does not remove the lingering impression that a single person is made to feel insignificant by the enormous number of people who do go to the polls, especially in a national election. Supporters of the ruling eli

27、te theory insist that even though voters are given a choice among candidates, their choice is restricted to a narrow range of similar-minded individuals approved by the ruling elite. Elections do not express what most people want or need, nor do they provide guidance for politicians (even if they wa

28、nt it) on what policies to enact. In this view, elections are primarily just rituals that perform a symbolic function for society. Still, since most people continue to show faces at the polls at one time or another, what arguments can be made in favor of. voting? One argument is that voting does hav

29、e significance, if not in individual impact, then in group pressure. Because citizens collectively have the power to give or withhold votes, they directly control the term in office of elected officials. Even if the choice is between Tweedledee and Tweedledum , Tweedledee knows that one must be acco

30、untable and this is fixed by law, and that minimally he or she must strive to avoid displeasing the constituents to lose the job. But perhaps political effectiveness and impact in voting are not the only consideration anyway. People do not vote only to influence policy. Millions go to the effort to

31、register and vote for a variety of other reasons as well. Some people may participate just to avoid feeling guilty about not voting. They may have been taught that is their patriotic duty to vote and that they have no right to complain about the outcome if they stay at home. Still others may vote to

32、 derive satisfaction from feeling that they are somehow participants, not just spectators, in an exciting electoral contest. Even if their one vote may not be crucial to the outcome, it nevertheless affirms their role in and support for the political process. Indeed, perhaps it is this final need th

33、at fuels the desire for full democratic participation among people in many nations of the world.（分数：15.00）(1).What is the true nature of elections according to the ruling elite theory?（分数：3.00）A.They are routine practices in a modem society.B.They are political gathering for a small number of people

34、.C.They are deceptive schemes manipulated by the ruling party.D.They are chances for those who want to utter their wishes.(2).According to Paragraph 3, people go to the polls because they（分数：3.00）A.believe it“s their responsibility to vote.B.believe their collective power makes a difference.C.want t

35、o show the strength and impact of each individual.D.don“t want to risk losing their jobs.(3).“Tweedledee and Tweedledum“ (Line 5, Paragraph 3) is used to refer to（分数：3.00）A.two voting individuals in an election.B.whatever parties in office.C.whichever candidates in an election.D.supporters in differ

36、ent constituencies.(4).What can be learnt from the last two paragraphs?（分数：3.00）A.The end result is decided by every step in the process.B.Democracy is more of a practice than of a theory.C.Participation will rid voters of any guilty conscience.D.Supporting the winner may bring great excitement.(5).

37、Which of the following is the best title for the text?（分数：3.00）A.Why Vote?B.How to Vote?C.Whom to Vote for?D.Do Elections Work?六、Text 4(总题数：1，分数：15.00)As time goes on, how to do good critical thinking is increasingly marginalized or even left out of the modern educational process. Critical thinking

38、involves a mental process that is highly disciplined and therefore requires most practitioners to be trained in it. This training is best begun in the formative years, and it is best taught by energetic, motivated teachers who continually challenge, and debate, and demand increasingly rigorous think

39、ing of their young students. However, as in all things, it is never too late to begin. Critical thinking is the process of evaluating and analyzing a proposition or an argument that has been offered to the thinker, for criticism, as being true. There follows a process of reasoning, evaluation of the

40、 offered evidence, and reflection, always begun from a point of skepticism. A proper critique of the offered argument involves more than direct observation. Besides reasoning, cognition and experience, proper critical thinking also involves intellectual values that go beyond the specific argument or

41、 object being critically examined. These intellectual values involve objective truth. Objective truth is that truth which comes from somewhere outside of our minds. Subjective truth is that truth which comes from within us; that which we feel, or sense, or believe to be true. Objective truth stands

42、alone, and does not depend upon us to remain true; it“s completely independent of the mind of man. No matter what we think about it, how we think about it, or even if we think about it, objective truth remains objective truth, unchanged, and impervious. Objective truth must always be taken into cons

43、ideration in order to do good critical thinking. There are different forms of objective truth, ranging from solid to ephemeral. In the “hard science“ fields, such as mathematics, physics and chemistry, the most recognized objective truths involve proven mathematical formulae, or recognized scientifi

44、c laws, or widely recognized and as yet unrefuted scientific theories. These “hard“ objective truths are taken by the critical thinker to be axioms or givens, and thus, useful tools to help in the critical thinking process. The process thereby builds upon a foundation of previously proven truth. No

45、matter how technically advanced we ever become, we are all, individually and collectively, called to think about things. It is our human nature.（分数：15.00）(1).It is suggested that the training of critical thinking in the formative years is best conducted by teachers（分数：3.00）A.because it requires well

46、-organized mental activity.B.because it has been stressed in modern education.C.who marginalize the traditional idea of education.D.who can direct students towards rigorous thinking.(2).A good critical thinker always（分数：3.00）A.involves more direct observations than pure reasoning.B.takes an argument

47、 for granted at the beginning.C.begins with a skeptical attitude towards an argument.D.puts more emphasis on intellectual values.(3).Objective truth is regarded as（分数：3.00）A.indispensable in the critical thinking process.B.unchanged human beliefs.C.unrefuted in scientific theories.D.outcomes of “har

48、d science“.(4).What can be inferred from the last paragraph?（分数：3.00）A.Technology has little to do with critical thinking.B.Critical thinking is a process of trial and error.C.Scientific theories are developed from scientific laws.D.Scientific truth is a foundation for critical thinking.(5).Which of

49、 the following best summarizes the text?（分数：3.00）A.Patterns of critical thinking.B.Essence of critical thinking.C.Methods of critical thinking.D.Criteria of critical thinking.七、Part B(总题数：1，分数：15.00)In his lectures at the Lyceum, a school that remained for centuries one of the great centers of learning in Greece, Aristotle defined the basic concepts and principles of many of the sciences. 1 In the first place, Aristotle criticized Plato“s theory of Forms by arguing that forms could not exist by themselves but existed only in particular things, which are composed of both form and m