1、大学英语四级阅读-28 及答案解析(总分：140.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、B/B(总题数：2，分数：40.00)Directions: In this section, you are going to read a passage with 10 statements attached to it. Each statement contains information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraph from which the information is derived. You may choose
2、 a paragraph more than once. Each paragraph is marked with a letter. Answer the questions by marking the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2.Surviving the RecessionA. Americas recession began quietly at the end of 2007. Since then it has evolved into a global crisis. Reasonable people may disagre
3、e about whom to blame. Financiers who were not as clever as they thought they were? Regulators falling asleep at work? Consumers who borrowed too much? Politicians who thoughtlessly promoted home-ownership for those who could not afford it? All are guilty; and what a mess they have created.B. Since
4、2007 America has shed 5 million jobs. More than 15% of the workforce are jobless or underemployedroughly 25 million workers. The only industries swelling their payrolls are health care, utilities and the federal government. The value of listed shares in American firms collapsed by 57% from its peak
5、in October 2007 to a low in March this year, though it has since bounced back somewhat. Industrial production fell by 12.8% in the year to March, the worst slide since the Second World War. Mark Zandi, an economist at Moodys E, predicts that the recession will shrink Americas economy by 3.5% in tota
6、l. For most executives, this is the worst business environment theyve ever seen.C. Times are so tough that even bosses are taking pay cuts. Median (中位数的) pay for chief executives of S they succeed in rescuing individuals but these individuals may have severe brain damage and be capable of only a les
7、s-than-human, vegetating existence. Such patients found with increasing frequency in the intensive care units of university hospitals, have been denied a death with dignity. Families are forced to suffer seeing their loved ones so reduced and are made to bear the burden of a prolonged “death watch.“
8、Even the ordinary methods of treating disease and prolonging life have changed the context in which men die. Fewer and fewer people die in the familiar surroundings of home or in the company of family and friends. At that time of life when there is perhaps the greatest need for human warmth and comf
9、ort, the dying patient is kept company by cardiac pacemakers and defibrillators, respirators, aspirators, oxygenators, catheters and his intravenous drip. Ties to the community of men are replaced by attachments to an assemblage of machines.This loneliness, however, is not confined to the dying pati
10、ent in the hospital bed. Consider the increasing number of old people still alive thanks to medical progress; as a group, the elderly are the most alienated members of our society, not yet ready for the world of the dead, not deemed fit for the world of the living, they are shunted aside. More and m
11、ore of them spend the extra years, medicine has given them in “homes for senior citizens,“ in hospitals for chronic diseases, and in nursing homes waiting for the end. We have learned how to increase their years, but we have not learned how to help them enjoy their days; yet we continue to bravely a
12、nd sternly push back the frontiers against death.（分数：10.00）(1).What is implied in the first sentence? A. Doctors take a vain pride in extending the life expectancy of human beings. B. Unrestrained exercise of will is an indispensable part of medical technology. C. Survival is much better than death
13、as far as humanization goals are concerned. D. Biomedical technology might cause negative consequences in its application.（分数：2.00）A.B.C.D.(2).When mentioning “attachments to an assemblage of machines“ (Line 6, Para. 3), the author intends to illustrate a dying patients _. A. reluctance to part with
14、 his family B. fear prior to humiliated death C. preference for human company D. distaste for medical apparatus（分数：2.00）A.B.C.D.(3).By saying “they are shunted aside“ (Line 4, Para. 4), the author means they are _. A. treated with indifference B. shut from their families C. isolated in the hospices
15、D. regarded as senior citizens（分数：2.00）A.B.C.D.(4).Towards the desperate efforts to save the severely ill and injured, the authors attitude is one of _. A. reserved consent B. enthusiastic support C. slight contempt D. strong disapproval（分数：2.00）A.B.C.D.(5).The text intends to express the idea that
16、_. A. implications of medical technologies should be re-addressed B. life beyond a certain limit is by no means worth living C. excessive demands aggravate the dehumanization of patients D. human company is preferable to that rendered by machines（分数：2.00）A.B.C.D.I have had just about enough of being
17、 treated like a second-class citizen, simply because I happen to be that put-upon member of societya customer. The more I go into shops and hotels, banks and post offices, railway stations, airports and the like, the more I am convinced the things are being run solely to suit the firm, the system, o
18、r the union. There seems to be a deceptive new motto for so-called “service“ organizationsStaff Before Service.How often, for example, have you queued for what seems like hours at the post office or the supermarket because there were not enough staff on duty to man all the service grilles or checkou
19、t counters? Sure? In these days of high unemployment it must be possible to hire cashiers and counter staff. Yet supermarkets, hinting darkly at higher prices, claim that uncovering all their cash registers at any one time would increase overheads. And the post office says we cannot expect all their
20、 service grilles to be occupied “at times when demand is low.“It is the same with hotels. Because waiters and kitchen staff must finish when it suits them, dining rooms close earlier or menu choice is cut short. As for us guests, we just have to put up with it. There is also the nonsense of so many
21、friendly hotel night porters having been thrown out of their jobs in the interests of “efficiency“ (i.e. profits) and replaced by coin-eating machines which offer everything from lager to laxatives. Not to mention the creeping threat of the tea-making kit in your room: a kettle with a mixed collecti
22、on of tea bags, plastic milk cartons and lump sugar. Who wants to wake up to a raw teabag? I do not, especially when I am paying for “service.“Can it be stopped, this worsening of service, this growing attitude that the customer is always a nuisance? I angrily hope so because it is happening, sadly,
23、 in all walks of life.Our only hope is to hammer home our anger whenever and wherever we can and, if all else fails, bring back into practice that other, older sloganTake Our Custom Elsewhere.（分数：10.00）(1).The writer feels that nowadays a customer _. A. deserves the lowest status in society B. is un
24、worthy of proper consideration C. receives unexpected quality service D. is the victim of some public services（分数：2.00）A.B.C.D.(2).The writer argues that the quality of service is changing because _. A. customers demands have radically changed B. services provided never become consistent C. the staf
25、f receive more consideration than customers D. the staff are less considerate than their employers（分数：2.00）A.B.C.D.(3).According to the writer, long queues at counters are caused by _. A. difficulties in hiring employees B. deliberate understaffing C. lack of cooperation between staff members D. emp
26、loyers irresponsibility（分数：2.00）A.B.C.D.(4).Service organizations contend that keeping all checkout counters operated can result in _. A. demands by cashiers for a pay raise B. insignificant benefits for the customers C. a rise in the cost for providing service D. needs to purchase expensive equipme
27、nt（分数：2.00）A.B.C.D.(5).The writer suggests that a customer _. A. put up with the rude manners of the staff B. be patient when queuing before checkout counters C. try to control his temper when ill-treated D. go to other places where good service is available（分数：2.00）A.B.C.D.六、BPassage Two/B(总题数：2，分数
28、：20.00)Science Fiction (SF) can provide students interested in the future with a basic introduction to the concept of thinking about possible futures in a serious way, a sense of the emotional forces in their own culture that are affecting the shape the future may take, and a multitude of prediction
29、s regarding the results of present trends.Although SF seems to take as its future social settings nothing more ambiguous than the current status or its totally evil variant, SF is actually a more important vehicle for speculative visions about macroscopic social change. At this level, it is hard to
30、deal with any precision as to when general value changes or evolving social institutions might appear, but it is most important to think about the kinds of societies that could result from the rise of new forms of interaction, even if one cannot predict exactly when they might occur.In performing th
31、is “what if.“ function, SF can act as a social laboratory as authors ruminate upon the forms social relationships could take if key variables in their own societies were different, and upon what new belief systems or mythologies could arise in the future to provide the basic rationalizations for hum
32、an activities. If it is true that most people find it difficult to conceive of the ways in which their society, or human nature itself, could undergo fundamental changes, then SF of this type may provoke ones imaginationto consider the diversity of paths potentially open to society.Moreover, if SF i
33、s the laboratory of the imagination, its experiments are often of the kind that may significantly alter the subject matter even as they are being carried out. That is, SF has always had a certain cybernetic effect on society, as its visions emotionally engage the future-consciousness of the mass pub
34、lic regarding especially desirable and undesirable possibilities. The shape a society takes in the present is in part influenced by its image of the future; in this way particularly powerful SF images may become self-fulfilling or self-avoiding prophecies for society. For that matter, some individua
35、ls in recent years have even shaped their own life styles after appealing models provided by SF stories. The reincarnation and diffusion of SF futuristic images of alternative societies through the media of movies and television may have speeded up and augmented SFs social feedback effects. Thus SF
36、is not only change speculator but change agent, send an echo from the future that is becoming into the present that is sculpting it. This fact alone makes imperative in any education system the study of the kinds of works discussed in this section.（分数：10.00）(1).What is the main idea of the passage?
37、A. The feedback effects of SF on society. B. The role of SF and its implications. C. The underlying emotional forces of SF. D. The concept of possible future for students.（分数：2.00）A.B.C.D.(2).From Para. 2, we can infer that _. A. SF is able to provide fairly reliable prophecies of social relationshi
38、ps B. SFs predictions about the evils in a future society have proved true C. SF can provoke imagination and could in itself undergo radical changes D. SFs representations of present trends may not so accurate as anticipated（分数：2.00）A.B.C.D.(3).According to the last paragraph, “self-fulfilling“ is t
39、o “self-avoiding“ as _. A. “exact“ to “inaccurate“ B. “fictional“ to “factual“ C. “desirable“ to “undesirable“ D. “individual“ to “public“（分数：2.00）A.B.C.D.(4).In discussing the role of SF, the author focuses on _. A. its main characteristics B. its general assumptions C. its social impact D. its utt
40、er fabrications（分数：2.00）A.B.C.D.(5).The overall tone of the piece of writing can best be described as _. A. indignant B. ironic C. humorous D. informative（分数：2.00）A.B.C.D.I am afraid to sleep. I have been afraid to sleep for the last few weeks. I am so tired that, finally, I do sleep, but only for a
41、 few minutes. It is not a bad dream that wakes me; it is the reality I took with me into sleep. I try to think of something else.Immediately the woman in the marketplace comes into my mind.I was on my way to dinner last night when I saw her. She was selling skirts. She moved with the same ease and l
42、oveliness I often saw in the women of Laos. Her long black hair was as shiny as the black silk of the skirts she was selling. In her hair, she wore three silk ribbons, blue, green, and white. They reminded me of my childhood and how my girlfriends and I used to spend hours braiding ribbons into our
43、hair.I dont know the word for “ribbons,“ so I put my hand to my own hair and, with three fingers against my head, I looked at her ribbons and said “beautiful.“ She lowered her eyes and said nothing. I wasnt sure if she understood me (I dont speak Laotian very well).I looked back down at the skirts.
44、They had designs on them: squares and triangles and circles of pink and green silk. They were very pretty. I decided to buy one of those skirts, and I began to bargain with her over the price. It is the custom to bargain in Asia. In Laos bargaining is done in soft voices and easy moves with the sort
45、 of quiet peacefulness.She smiled, more with her eyes than with her lips. She was pleased by the few words I was able to say in her language. Although they were mostly numbers, and she saw that I understood something about the soft playfulness of bargaining. We shook our heads in disagreement over t
46、he price; then, immediately, we made another offer and then another shake of the head. She was so pleased that unexpectedly, she accepted the last offer I made. But it was too soon. The price was too low. She was being too generous and wouldnt make enough money. I moved quickly and picked up two mor
47、e skirts and paid for all three at the price set; that way I was able to pay her three times as much before she had a chance to lower the price for the larger purchase. She smiled openly then, and, for the first time in months, my spirit lifted. I almost felt happy.The feeling stayed with me while s
48、he wrapped the skirts in a newspaper and handed them to me. When I left, though, the feeling left, too. It was as though it stayed behind in marketplace. I left tears in my throat. I wanted to cry. I didnt, of course.I have learned to defend myself against what is hard; without knowing it, I have al
49、so learned to defend myself against what is soft and what should be easy.I get up, light a candle and want to look at the skirts. They are still in the newspaper that the woman wrapped them in. I remove the paper, and raise the skirts up to look at them again before I pack them. Something falls to the floor. I reach down and feel something cool in my hand. I move cl
