1、大学英语四级分类模拟题 396 及答案解析(总分：100.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、Reading Comprehensio(总题数：0，分数：0.00)二、Section A(总题数：1，分数：30.00)When older people can no longer remember names at a cocktail party, they tend to think that their brainpower is declining. But a growing number of studies suggest that this 1 is often wrong. In
2、stead, recent research finds, the aging brain is simply 2 in more data and trying to sift (筛选) through a world of chaotic information, often to its long-term benefit. The studies are analyzed in a new edition of a neurology book, Progress in Brain Research. Some brains do deteriorate (退化) with age.
3、Alzheimer“s disease, for example, 3 13 percent of Americans aged 65 and above. But for most aging adults, the authors say, much of what occurs is a gradually widening focus of attention that makes it more 4 to latch onto (获得) just one fact, like a name or a telephone number. Although that can be 5 ,
4、 it is often useful. “It may be that distractibility is not, in fact, a bad thing,“ said Shelley H. Carson, a psychology researcher at Harvard whose work was cited in the book. “It may increase the amount of information 6 to the conscious mind.“ For example, in studies where subjects are asked to re
5、ad passages that are 7 with unexpected words, adults aged 60 and above work much more 8 than college students. Although the students plow through the texts at a 9 speed regardless of what the out-of-place words mean, older people slow down even more when the words are related to the topic at hand. T
6、hat indicates that they are not just stumbling over the extra 10 , but are taking it in and processing it. A. assumption I. information B. available J. interrupted C. consistent K. resistant D. debate L. slowly E. difficult M. strikes F. filled N. taking G. frustrating O. widely H. happens（分数：30.00）
7、三、Section B(总题数：1，分数：40.00)College AbroadA. Nefra Faltas, 20, a human-biology and philosophy major, could have gone to the University of Virginia as an in-state student three years ago but chose to attend the University of Toronto instead. “It was time,“ she decided, “to be exposed to something comp
8、letely different.“ Rachel Polner, 21, a Denver resident, considered several institutions, including Princeton, but stopped looking at U.S. schools after the University of York in England made her an unconditional offer. She knows England well, having vacationed there during her childhood, and was pl
9、eased that she would be allowed to concentrate entirely on her chosen subjectEnglish literature. Todd Makurath, 20, decided not to return for his sophomore year at Coastal Carolina University in South Carolina because he “wanted to be in a much more stimulating academic environment.“ Regaled (使愉悦) w
10、ith tales about Trinity College Dublin by some Irish students working at Myrtle Beach, S.C., he decided that he was going to do “whatever it took to get into the college.“ He bettered his SAT scores, and even moved to Ireland for a few months to test the waters. Now in his first year at Trinity, he
11、is delighted to be receiving “an Ivy League education for about half the price“. B. Cost may be only one factor that is behind a growing move among young Americans to seek their college degrees in Canada, England and Ireland, where the education is first-rate and, since English is spoken, understand
12、able. Now, with the cost of an Ivy League education well past the $30,000-a-year mark, the sticker prices abroad are more attractive than ever. An American college student in Canada might spend, on average, $10,000 on tuition and living expenses; in England, $17,000; and in Ireland, around $14,000.
13、In the past several years, between 20% and 60% more U.S. students have been attending undergraduate schools in Canada, England and Ireland. C. Canada, host this year to more than 3,000 American students, is the most popular destination for those seeking undergraduate degrees abroad, in no small part
14、 because it“s close to home. Katy Morley, 18, chose Bishop“s University in southern Quebec because she wanted to leave Vermont yet remain within a two-hour drive of her family“s farm. “I loved Bishop“s from the first minute,“ she says. She appreciates her small classes, the charming Quebec scenery a
15、nd the “low-key“ people, whose “whole mind set is different“ from that of Americans. Canada“s 90 universities, all publicly funded, offer degree programs similar to those available at U.S. schools. D. Americans studying in Canada may find that friends back home are ignorant of all but a few Canadian
16、 schools, like McGill. Fortunately, those who countgraduate-admissions deans and corporate recruitersknow better. A Canadian university degree is welcome at such top U.S. graduate schools as Harvard, Yale, Columbia, the University of Chicago and M.I.T. Major U.S. corporations such as IBM, Ford Motor
17、 and Arthur Andersen increasingly recruit at Canadian schools. According to a study by the Canadian Bureau for International Education, about 80% of American students at Canadian universities are pleased with their choice of school and would recommend a Canadian education to others. Peter Deitz, 20,
18、 a N.Y. resident majoring in Canadian history at McGill, allows that he is “very grateful, very content with the choice that I made.“ E. For many of the 1,400 or so American undergraduates studying in Britain, family connections, a fondness for all things British, and most of all, the prestige assoc
19、iated with an Oxford, Cambridge or Edinburgh education matter more than price. Yet even though Britain“s tuition fees for foreign students are substantial, they are lower than those at many private U.S. schools, and a bachelor“s degree usually takes only three years. F. British universities best sui
20、t those who have already decided what they want to learn, because at those schools students take courses in only one subject during their three-year bachelor program. “If you really know what path you want to take in life,“ observes Polner, now in her final year at York, “then it“s a great way to do
21、 it.“ G. Ireland, of course, has its own special chemistry. Domenica Alioto, 18, chose Trinity College Dublin because “none of the American schools I applied to really excited me the way Trinity did.“ The excitement is apparently catching: The number of all American students in Ireland, where there
22、are only nine universities, has doubled in the past four yearsto 1,160. Some may come to walk the same streets as did Joyce, Yeats, Swift or Wilde, or take in the enchanting architecture and countryside. Ivan Filbi, director of international student affairs at Trinity College Dublin, simply credits
23、the quality of the schooling. Americans come here, he says, because “they know they“re going to get a jolly good education at a very top school.“ Trinity College, founded in 1592 and located on a romantic 47-acre campus in the heart of Dublin, is a top draw. So is University College Galway, a theatr
24、ical and cultural center on Ireland“s west coast. H. Romantic and historic though they may be, these international institutions don“t coddle their students the way some American colleges do. Canadian universities come closest to the American concept of in loco parentis (代替父母), offering numerous welc
25、oming services to foreign students. Still, their staff are less nurturing than those in the U.S. In Britain the entire college experience bears almost no resemblance to an American one. As Cecile Divino, who recently attended the London School of Economics, observes, “In England there isn“t the same
26、 type of community network that American colleges have.“ “It“s hard,“ says Rachel Polner, “if you do have a serious problem, because you can“t just hop on a flight and be home in two hours.“ Trinity“s Filbi warns that in Ireland, “we don“t spoon-feed our students.“ Jessi Hathaway, 18, who left her h
27、ome in Kennebunkport, Maine, to begin studies at Trinity this year, suggests other Americans plan to bring “an outgoing personality and a sense of adventure“ if they plan to survive. I. In today“s global village, observes David Johnston, the president of the University of Waterloo in Ontario, “borde
28、rs are less and less barriers and more and more invitations.“ Those who accept may find they learn as much from living in a new country as they do in their classes. Attending a foreign school, suggests Todd Makurath, “teaches you to think not just in terms of your city or even country but to look at
29、 the world as a whole. It“s the ultimate learning experience.“（分数：40.00）(1).The degree programs of Canadian universities are similar to those of American universities.（分数：4.00）(2).Todd Makurath went to Ireland to be familiar with local life before he got into Trinity.（分数：4.00）(3).Many American stude
30、nts go to British universities primarily for their prestige.（分数：4.00）(4).Compared with the staff in the Canadian universities, those in the U.S. universities are more nurturing.（分数：4.00）(5).The main reason that most American students pursuing degrees abroad choose Canada is that it is near to their
31、motherland.（分数：4.00）(6).It is suitable for students who have made a decision on what they want to learn to go to British universities.（分数：4.00）(7).According to Ivan Filbi, the schooling of Trinity College Dublin is of high quality.（分数：4.00）(8).The degrees got from Canadian universities are popular w
32、ith top U.S. graduate schools.（分数：4.00）(9).The University of York gave Rachel Polner an unconditional offer, which made her stop looking at domestic universities.（分数：4.00）(10).Compared with students studying at domestic colleges, American students have to go through more challenges in Ireland.（分数：4.
33、00）四、Section C(总题数：0，分数：0.00)五、Passage One(总题数：1，分数：15.00)Insurance is the sharing of risks. Nearly everyone is exposed to risk of some sort. The house owner, for example, knows that his property can be damaged by fire; the ship owner knows that his vessel may be lost at sea; the breadwinner knows t
34、hat he may die at an early age and leave his family the poorer. On the other hand, not every house is damaged by fire nor every vessel lost at sea. If these persons each put a small sum of money into a pool, there will be enough to meet the needs of the few who do suffer loss. In other words, the lo
35、sses of the few are met from the contributions of the money. This is the basis of insurance. Those who pay the contribution are known as “insured“ and those who administer the pool of contributions as “insurers.“ Not all risks lend themselves to being covered by insurance. Broadly speaking, the ordi
36、nary risks of business and speculation cannot be covered. The risk that buyers will not buy goods at the prices offered is not of a kind that can be statistically estimated, and risks can only be insured against if they can be estimated. The legal basis of all insurance is the “policy.“ This is a pr
37、imed form of contract on stout (结实的) paper of the best quality. It states that in return for the regular payment by the insured of a named sum of money, called the “premium“ (保险费), which is usually paid every year, the insurer will pay a sum of money or compensation for loss, if the risk or event in
38、sured against actually happens. The wording of policies, particularly in marine insurance, often seems very old-fashioned, but there is a sound reason for this. Over a large number of years many law cases have been brought to clear up the meanings of doubtful phrases in policies. The law courts, in
39、their judgments, have given these phrases a definite and indisputable meaning, and to avoid future disputes the phrases have continued to be used in policies even when they have passed out of normal use in speech.（分数：15.00）(1).What do we learn about the insured?（分数：3.00）A.They administer the money p
40、aid by insurers.B.They have to pay insurers a sum of money.C.They are the very basis of insurance.D.Nearly everyone of them does suffer loss.(2).Why can“t the ordinary risks of business be covered by insurance?（分数：3.00）A.The losses may be too great to meet.B.The risks cannot be estimated precisely.C
41、.The risks are too high.D.The premiums would be too high.(3).What is the legal basis of all insurance?（分数：3.00）A.The policy.B.The insured.C.The insurers.D.The premium paid every year.(4).Why is old-fashioned wording often used in policies?（分数：3.00）A.Law courts suggest the use of it.B.It is widely us
42、ed in our daily life.C.It enables ordinary people to understand it easily.D.The meaning of such wording has been agreed upon.(5).What does the author think of insurance?（分数：3.00）A.A form of gambling.B.Old-fashioned.C.A way of making money quickly.D.Useful and necessary.六、Passage Two(总题数：1，分数：15.00)A
43、pril the 3rd was the day we attempted to reach Mount Qomolangma. The morning saw us all up and rushing about the camp at daybreak. We bumped down the nine miles of dusty track, each clutching (抓住) a camera or one of the more delicate instruments to our chests in an endeavor to make our bodies absorb
44、 as many of the shocks from the bumpy track as possible. The ground staff were already busy on our arrival. The sheds where the aircraft were kept had been opened and the great machines were being manhandled out onto the runway. The bottles of oxygen were carefully placed in their clips and connecte
45、d to the system. The vertical cameras were fitted and tested, air frames and engines were inspected and tested in every detail. Pilots and observers cared greatly about their equipment, trying on oxygen masks which they had tried on many times before, readjusting straps, electric leads and oxygen fe
46、ed pipes that had already been adjusted to a nicety. They then rechecked the charts which had been carefully prepared to allow accurately for the increasing wind speeds during the climball trying to keep themselves occupied during that tense half-hour wait for the return of the reconnaissance (勘测) m
47、achine. There had been so much preparation for this flight, and there was still so much of the unknown about it, that the crew could not help being slightly affected by the general excitement. Waiting is always unpleasant, and we were all relieved to see the reconnaissance machine diving down throug
48、h the dust haze (薄雾). The Air Commodore who commanded it brought welcome news. Though he had been unable to climb above the dust, he had been able to see towards the mountains through the top of the haze and there was a cloudless sky. This was splendid: no cloud to spoil the photography. We had prom
49、ised not to attempt the flight if the wind exceeded 40 miles an hour, but this was the first time we had found the wind under 100 miles an hour. The Air Commodore weighed the position carefully and gave the word “Go!“.（分数：15.00）(1).Why did the author and his company hold their instruments close to their chest?（分数：3.00）A.They worried the instruments might be stolen.B.The dust might have obscured their cameras.C.They wanted to protect their instruments from shocks.D.They were too tense to relax entirely.(2).What were the ground staff doing when the members of the expedition arrived?（分数：3.00
