1、大学英语四级-122 及答案解析(总分：100.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、Reading Comprehensio(总题数：4，分数：100.00)Professor Smith recently persuaded 35 people, 23 of them women, to keep a diary of all their absent-minded actions for a fortnight. When he came to analyse their embarrassing lapses (差错) in a scientific report, he was surpr
2、ised to find that nearly all of them fell into a few groupings. Nor did the lapses appear to be entirely random (随机的). One of the women, for instance, on leaving her house for work one morning threw her dog her earrings and tried to fix a dog biscuit on her ear. “The explanation for this is that the
3、 brain is like a computer,“ explains the professor. “People programme themselves to do certain activities regularly. It was the woman“s custom every morning to throw her dog two biscuits and then put on her earrings. But somehow the action got reversed in the programme.“ About one in twenty of the i
4、ncidents the volunteers reported were these “programme assembly failures.“ Altogether the volunteers logged 433 unintentional actions that they found themselves doingan average of twelve each. There appear to be peak periods in the day when we are at our zaniest (荒谬可笑的). These are two hours some tim
5、e between eight a.m. and noon, between four and six p.m. with a smaller peak between eight and ten p.m. “Among men the peak seems to be when a changeover in brain “programmes“ occurs, as for instance between going to and from work.“ Women on average reported slightly more lapses12.5 compared with 10
6、.9 for menprobably because they were more reliable reporters. A startling finding of the research is that the absent-minded activity is a hazard of doing things in which we are skilled. Normally, you would expect that skill reduces the number of errors we make. But trying to avoid silly slips by con
7、centrating more could make things a lot worseeven dangerous.（分数：25.00）(1).In his study Professor Smith asked the subjects _.（分数：5.00）A.to keep track of people who tend to forget thingsB.to report their embarrassing lapses at randomC.to analyse their awkward experiences scientificallyD.to keep a reco
8、rd of what they did unintentionally(2).Professor Smith discovered that _.（分数：5.00）A.certain patterns can be identified in the recorded incidentsB.many people were too embarrassed to admit their absent-mindednessC.men tend to be more absent-minded than womenD.absent-mindedness is an excusable human w
9、eakness(3).“Programme assembly failures“ (Line 6, Para. 2) refers to the phenomenon that people _.（分数：5.00）A.often fail to programme their routines beforehandB.tend to make mistakes when they are in a hurryC.unconsciously change the sequence of doing thingsD.are likely to mess things up if they are
10、too tired(4).We learn from the third paragraph that _.（分数：5.00）A.absent-mindedness tends to occur during certain hours of the dayB.women are very careful to perform actions during peak periodsC.women experience more peak periods of absent-mindednessD.men“s absent-mindedness often results in funny si
11、tuations(5).It can be concluded from the passage that _.（分数：5.00）A.people should avoid doing important things during peak periods of lapsesB.hazards can be avoided when people do things they are good atC.people should be careful when programming their actionsD.lapses cannot always be attributed to l
12、ack of concentrationIt“s no secret that many children would be healthier and happier with adoptive parents than with the parents that nature dealt them. That“s especially true of children who remain in abusive homes because the law blindly favors biological parents. It“s also true of children who su
13、ffer for years in foster homes (收养孩子的家庭) because of parents who can“t or won“t care for them but refuse to give up custody (监护) rights. Fourteen-year-old Kimberly Mays fits neither description, but her recent court victory could eventually help children who do. Kimberly has been the object of an ang
14、ry custody battle between the man who raised her and her biological parents, with whom she has never rived. A Florida judge ruled that the teenager can remain with the only father she“s ever known and that her biological parents have “no legal claim“ on her. The ruling, though it may yet be reversed
15、, sets aside the principle that biology is the primary determinant of parentage. That“s an important development, one that“s long overdue. Shortly after birth in December 1978, Kimberly Mays and another infant were mistakenly switched and sent home with the wrong parents. Kimberly“s biological paren
16、ts, Ernest and Regina Twigg, received a child who died of a heart disease in 1988. Medical tests showed that the child wasn“t the Twiggs“ own daughter, but Kimberly was, thus sparking a custody battle with Robert Mays. In 1989, the two families agreed that Mr. Mays would maintain custody with the Tw
17、iggs getting visiting rights. Those rights were ended when Mr. Mays decided that Kimberly was being harmed. The decision to leave Kimberly with Mr. Mays rendered her suit debated. But the judge made clear that Kimberly did have standing to sue (起诉) on her own behalf. Thus he made clear that she was
18、more than just property to be handled as adults saw fit. Certainly, the biological link between parent and child is fundamental. But biological parents aren“t always preferable to adoptive ones, and biological parentage does not convey an absolute ownership that cancels all the rights of children.（分
19、数：25.00）(1).What was the primary consideration in the Florida judge“s ruling?（分数：5.00）A.The biological link.B.The child“s benefits.C.The traditional practiceD.The parents“ feelings.(2).We can learn from the Kimberly case that _.（分数：5.00）A.children are more than just personal possessions of their par
20、entsB.the biological link between parent and child should be emphasizedC.foster homes bring children more pain and suffering than careD.biological parents shouldn“t claim custody rights after their child is adopted(3).The Twiggs claimed custody rights to Kimberly because _.（分数：5.00）A.they found her
21、unhappy in Mr. Mays“ custodyB.they regarded her as their propertyC.they were her biological parentsD.they felt guilty about their past mistake(4).Kimberly had been given to Mr. Mays _.（分数：5.00）A.by sheer accidentB.out of charityC.at his requestD.for better care(5).The author“s attitude towards the j
22、udge“s ruling could be described as _.（分数：5.00）A.doubtfulB.criticalC.cautiousD.supportiveI“m usually fairly skeptical about any research that concludes that people are either happier or unhappier or more or less certain of themselves than they were 50 years ago. While any of these statements might b
23、e true, they are practically impossible to prove scientifically. Still, I was struck by a report which concluded that today“s children are significantly more anxious than children in the 1950s. In fact, the analysis showed, normal children aged 9 to 17 exhibit a higher level of anxiety today than ch
24、ildren who were treated for mental illness 50 years ago. Why are America“s kids so stressed? The report cites two main causes: increasing physical isolationbrought on by high divorce rates and less involvement in community, among other thingsand a growing perception that the world is a more dangerou
25、s place. Given that we can“t turn the clock back, adults can still do plenty to help the next generation cope. At the top of the list is nurturing (培育) a better appreciation of the limits of individualism. No child is an island. Strengthening social ties helps build communities and protect individua
26、ls against stress. To help kids build stronger connections with others, you can pull the plug on TVs and computers. Your family will thank you later. They will have more time for face-to-face relationships, and they will get more sleep. Limit the amount of virtual (虚拟的) violence your children are ex
27、posed to. It“s not just video games and movies; children see a lot of murder and crime on the local news. Keep your expectations for your children reasonable. Many highly successful people never attended Harvard or Yale. Make exercise part of your daily routine. It will help you cope with your own a
28、nxieties and provide a good model for your kids. Sometimes anxiety is unavoidable. But it doesn“t have to ruin your life.（分数：25.00）(1).The author thinks that the conclusions of any research about people“s state of mind are _.（分数：5.00）A.surprisingB.illogicalC.confusingD.questionable(2).What does the
29、author mean when he says, “we can“t turn the clock back“(Line 1, Para. 3)?（分数：5.00）A.It“s impossible to slow down the pace of change.B.The social reality children are facing cannot be changed.C.Lessons learned from the past should not be forgotten.D.It“s impossible to forget the past.(3).According t
30、o an analysis, compared with normal children today, children treated as mentally ill 50 years ago _.（分数：5.00）A.were less isolated physicallyB.were probably less sell-centeredC.probably suffered less from anxietyD.were considered less individualistic(4).The first and most important thing parents shou
31、ld do to help their children is _.（分数：5.00）A.to provide them with a safer environmentB.to lower their expectations for themC.to get them more involved sociallyD.to set a good model for them to follow(5).What conclusion can be drawn from the passage?（分数：5.00）A.Anxiety, though unavoidable, can be cope
32、d with.B.Children“s anxiety has been enormously exaggerated.C.Children“s anxiety can be eliminated with more parental care.D.Anxiety, if properly controlled, may help children become mature.It came as something of a surprise when Diana, Princess of Wales, made a trip to Angola in 1997, to support th
33、e Red Cross“s campaign for a total ban on all anti-personnel landmines. Within hours of arriving in Angola, television screens around the world were filled with images of her comforting victims injured in explosions caused by landmines. “I knew the statistics,“ she said. “But putting a face to those
34、 figures brought the reality home to me; like when I met Sandra, a 13-year-old girl who had lost her leg, and people like her.“ The Princess Concluded with a simple message: “We must stop landmines.“ And she used every opportunity during her visit to repeat this message. But, back in London, her vie
35、ws were not shared by some members of the British government, which refused to support a ban on these weapons. Angry politicians launched an attack on the Princess in the press. They described her as “very ill-informed“ and a “ loose cannon (乱放炮的人).“ The Princess responded by brushing aside the crit
36、icisms: “This is a distraction (干扰) we do not need. All I“m trying to do is help.“ Opposition parties, the media and the public immediately voiced their support for the Princess. To make matters worse for the government, it soon emerged that the Princess“s trip had been approved by the Foreign Offic
37、e, and that she was in fact very well-informed about both the situation in Angola and the British government“s policy regarding landmines. The result was a severe embarrassment for the government. To try and limit the damage, the Foreign Secretary, Malcolm Rifkidnd, claimed that the Princess“s views
38、 on landmines were not very different from government policy, and that it was “working towards“ a worldwide ban. The Defence Secretary, Michael Portillo, claimed the matter was “a misinterpretation or misunderstanding.“ For the Princess, the trip to this war-torn country was an excellent opportunity
39、 to use her popularity to show the world how much destruction and suffering landmines can cause. She said that the experience had also given her the chance to get closer to people and their problems.（分数：25.00）(1).Princess Diana paid a visit to Angola in 1997 _.（分数：5.00）A.to voice her support for a t
40、otal ban of landminesB.to clarify the British government“s stand on landminesC.to investigate the sufferings of landmine victims thereD.to establish her image as a friend of landmine victims(2).What did Diana mean when she said “.putting a face to those figures brought the reality home to me“ (Lines
41、 4-5, Para. 1)?（分数：5.00）A.She just couldn“t bear to meet the landmine victims face to face.B.The actual situation in Angola made her feel like going back home.C.Meeting the landmine victims in person made her believe the statistics.D.Seeing the pain of the victims made her realize the seriousness of
42、 the situation.(3).Some members of the British government criticized Diana because _.（分数：5.00）A.she was ill-informed of the government“s policyB.they were actually opposed to banning landminesC.she had not consulted the government before the visitD.they believed that she had misinterpreted the situa
43、tion in Angola(4).How did Diana respond to the criticisms?（分数：5.00）A.She paid no attention to them.B.She made more appearances on TV.C.She met the 13-year-old girl as planned.D.She rose to argue with her opponents.(5).What did Princess Diana think of her visit to Angola?（分数：5.00）A.It had caused emba
44、rrassment to the British government.B.It had brought her closer to the ordinary people.C.It had greatly promoted her popularity.D.It had affected her relations with the British government.大学英语四级-122 答案解析(总分：100.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、Reading Comprehensio(总题数：4，分数：100.00)Professor Smith recently persuaded 3
45、5 people, 23 of them women, to keep a diary of all their absent-minded actions for a fortnight. When he came to analyse their embarrassing lapses (差错) in a scientific report, he was surprised to find that nearly all of them fell into a few groupings. Nor did the lapses appear to be entirely random (
46、随机的). One of the women, for instance, on leaving her house for work one morning threw her dog her earrings and tried to fix a dog biscuit on her ear. “The explanation for this is that the brain is like a computer,“ explains the professor. “People programme themselves to do certain activities regular
47、ly. It was the woman“s custom every morning to throw her dog two biscuits and then put on her earrings. But somehow the action got reversed in the programme.“ About one in twenty of the incidents the volunteers reported were these “programme assembly failures.“ Altogether the volunteers logged 433 u
48、nintentional actions that they found themselves doingan average of twelve each. There appear to be peak periods in the day when we are at our zaniest (荒谬可笑的). These are two hours some time between eight a.m. and noon, between four and six p.m. with a smaller peak between eight and ten p.m. “Among me
49、n the peak seems to be when a changeover in brain “programmes“ occurs, as for instance between going to and from work.“ Women on average reported slightly more lapses12.5 compared with 10.9 for menprobably because they were more reliable reporters. A startling finding of the research is that the absent-minded activity is a hazard of doing things in which we are skilled. Normally, you would expect that skill reduces the number of errors we make. But trying to avoid silly slips by concentrating more could make things
