1、公共英语四级(笔试)-49 及答案解析(总分：100.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、Section Listening(总题数：0，分数：0.00)二、Part A(总题数：1，分数：5.00)Information about Computer SecurityThere is an immediate need for computer 1 One way to prevent theft and inappropriate use is to assign access 2 Computers should also be protected against natural disas
2、ters such as power surges, fires and 3 It is important to make backup disks and store them in different 4 Security will continue to be a problem because computer users continue to 5 （分数：5.00）填空项 1:_三、Part B(总题数：1，分数：5.00)Video games are the most popular toys in 1 The games are only moderately popula
3、r with 2 The control box contains 3 A player can direct the movements of some of the objects on the screen by moving a stick or 4 Children who play video games well must be quick with their hands and 5 （分数：5.00）填空项 1:_四、Part C(总题数：2，分数：10.00)（分数：5.00）(1).Before being used for commerce, what was the
4、Internet mainly used for?（分数：1.00）A.Education.B.Transportation.C.Management.D.The army and research work in universities.(2).What is the number one advantage of the Internet, as a means for commerce?（分数：1.00）A.Its speed.B.There is no national boundaries.C.It can help marketing.D.It can reduce costs.
5、3).Which of the following is NOT the factor that can make the trade more efficient on the Internet?（分数：1.00）A.Speedy communication.B.Customers.C.Timely updated information.D.Availability of products for sale on the Internet.(4).What do consumers worry about in e-commerce?（分数：1.00）A.Quality of produ
6、cts.B.Prices of products.C.Speed of transaction.D.Privacy and security.(5).What is the passage mainly about?（分数：1.00）A.The development of e-commerce.B.The function of e-commerce.C.The advantages of e-commerce.D.The disadvantages of e-commerce.（分数：5.00）(1).According to the speaker, six percent of Ame
7、ricans surveyed recently are _ the Internet.（分数：1.00）A.good atB.familiar withC.strongly interested inD.annoyed at(2).According to the talk, Internet users go on-line to do all the following except _.（分数：1.00）A.chattingB.going shoppingC.trading stocksD.buying drugs(3).What is the percentage of the pe
8、ople chatting on-line?（分数：1.00）A.75.B.20.C.6.D.57.(4).According to the speaker, which of the following is NOT true?（分数：1.00）A.The addicts finally realize that they need to withdraw.B.The addicts feel all right.C.The addicts have tried to reduce the amount of time they waste on-line.D.It“s difficult
9、for the addicts to quit going on-line.(5).How does the speaker think of the addiction?（分数：1.00）A.It weakens the stability of addicts“ work and home life.B.There is nothing wrong with the addiction.C.It“s good for addicts“ health.D.The speaker“s attitude is not mentioned.五、Section Reading(总题数：0，分数：0.
10、00)六、Part A(总题数：1，分数：20.00)The Computer As a Mind ToolIn Megatrends, his popular book on the direction of western society, John Naisbitt discusses the many trends that currently affect our lives. One important concept that he presents is the information societythat is, a society in which the majorit
11、y of the workers are involved in the transmittal, or sending of information. Naisbitt notes that we have undergone a transition from an agrarian society to an industrial society to the current information society. The tools for such a society have existed for some time. These tools include the addin
12、g machine, the typewriter, the file cabinet, the television, and the telephone. The adding machine helps us work with numbers, the typewriter facilitates our work with characters, the file cabinet stores information in an easily retrievable fashion, the television portrays our ideas in pictures, and
13、 the telephone allows us to communicate with others instantaneously. However, the key element in the transition from an industrial society to an information society is a “wonder“ called computer. The agrarian society depended on the metal plow and wheel, and the industrial society on the steam engin
14、e. The information society depends on the computer. Because the computer facilitates the work of the mind rather than manual labor, we refer to it as a mind toolthat is, a tool that extends, but does not replace, the human mind. The key idea behind the computer as a mind tool is that it performs all
15、 of the operations performed by the adding machine, typewriter, file cabinet, television, and telephone. On a computer, we can manipulate numbers as we do on a calculator (add, subtract, divide, multiply, and so on), we can manipulate letters of the alphabet as we do on a typewriter, and we can have
16、 the computer draw pictures based on these manipulations. Any of these symbols may be stored within the computer. Finally, we can communicate with other computer users over a telephone line. If a computer can do all of these things, just exactly how would it be described? Briefly, a computer is a ma
17、chine that stores and manipulates symbols based on a series of user instructions called a program. This ability to execute a list of instructions differentiates the computer from a calculator and other office machines. In addition to the computer“s ability to perform all these tasks, two important c
18、haracteristics of the computer make it the catalyst that generated the information society. These characteristics are speed and accuracy. The speed of a computer“s operations is measured in nanosecondsbillionths of a secondand the computer does exactly what it is instructed to do. These two characte
19、ristics can also lead to problems when the computer is given the wrong instructions. In this case, the computer quickly performs incorrect operations.（分数：20.00）(1).What does the word “facilitate“ probably mean (in the 2nd paragraph)?（分数：4.00）A.Make something easier.B.Provide facilities.C.Make someth
20、ing obvious.D.Make something more difficult.(2).In what way is the computer different from other office machines?（分数：4.00）A.It can manipulate numbers.B.It can draw pictures.C.It can help communicate with other computer users.D.It can execute a list of instructions.(3).What makes the computer the cat
21、alyst?（分数：4.00）A.Its speed.B.Its size.C.Its accuracy.D.Both A and C.(4).What will happen when computer users input wrong instructions?（分数：4.00）A.The computer will correct them immediately.B.The computer will perform incorrect operations.C.The computer will ignore them.D.None of the above.(5).Which o
22、f the following is true?（分数：4.00）A.Tools such as the adding machine, the typewriter, etc., are not as important as the computer.B.The agrarian society depended on the steam engine.C.The computer can only do what it is instructed to do.D.The computer will replace the human mind one day.七、Part B(总题数：1
23、分数：15.00)Canada“s premiers (the leaders of provincial governments), if they have any breath left after complaining about Ottawa at their late July annual meeting, might spare a moment to do something, together, to reduce health-care costs. They“re all groaning about soaring health budgets, the fast
24、est-growing components of which are pharmaceutical costs. 1 What to do? Both the Romanow commission and the Kirby committee on health care-to say nothing of reports from other expertsrecommended the creation of a national drug agency. Instead of each province having its own list of approved drugs, b
25、ureaucracy, procedures and limited bargaining power, all would pool resources, work with Ottawa, and create a national institution. 2 . But “national“ doesn“t have to mean that. “National“ could mean interprovincial-provinces combining efforts to create one body. Either way, one benefit of a “nation
26、al“ organization would be to negotiate better prices, if possible, with drug manufacturers. Instead of having one provinceor a series of hospitals within a provincenegotiate a price for a given drug on the provincial list, the national agency would negotiate on behalf of all provinces. Rather than,
27、say, Quebec, negotiating on behalf of seven million people, the national agency would negotiate on behalf of 31 million people. Basic economics suggests the greater the potential consumers, the higher the likelihood of a better price. 3 . A small step has been taken in the direction of a national ag
28、ency with the creation of the Canadian Coordinating office for Health Technology Assessment, funded by Ottawa and the provinces. Under it, a Common Drug Review recommends to provincial lists which new drugs should be included. Predictably, and regrettably, Quebec refused to join. A few premiers are
29、suspicious of any federal-provincial deal-making. They (particularly Quebec and Alberta) just want Ottawa to fork over additional billions with few, if any, strings attached. That“s one reason why the idea of a national list hasn“t gone anywhere, while drug costs keep rising fast. 4 . Premiers love
30、to quote Mr. Romanow“s report selectively, especially the parts about more federal money. Perhaps they should read what he had to say about drugs. “A national drug agency would provide governments more influence on pharmaceutical companies in order to try to constrain the ever-increasing cost of dru
31、gs.“ 5 . So when the premiers gather in Niagara Falls to assemble their usual complaint list, they should also get cracking about something in their jurisdiction that would help their budgets and patients. A. Quebec“s resistance to a national agency is provincialist ideology. One of the first advoca
32、tes for a national list was a researcher at Laval University. Quebec“s Drug Insurance Fund has seen its costs skyrocket with annual increases from 14.3 percent to 26.8 percent! B. Or they could read Mr. Kirby“s report: “the substantial buying power of such an agency would strengthen the public presc
33、ription-drug insurance plans to negotiate the lowest possible purchase prices from drug companies.“ C. What does “national“ mean? Roy Romanow and Senator Michael Kirby recommended a federal-provincial body much like the recently created National Health Council. D. The problem is simple and stark: he
34、alth-care costs have been, are, and will continue to increase faster than government revenues. E. According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, prescription drug costs have risen since 1997 at twice the rate of overall health-care spending. Part of the increase comes from drugs being u
35、sed to replace other kinds of treatments. Part of it arises from new drugs costing more than older kinds. Part of it is higher prices. F. So, if the provinces want to run the health-care show, they should prove they can run it, starting with an interprovincial health list that would end duplication,
36、 save administrative costs, prevent one province from being played off against another, and bargain for better drug prices. G. Of course, the pharmaceutical companies will scream. They like divided buyers; they can lobby better that way. They can use the threat of removing jobs from one province to
37、another. They can hope that, if one province includes a drug on its list, the pressure will cause others to include it on theirs. They wouldn“t like a national agency, but self-interest would lead them to deal with it.（分数：15.00）八、Section Writing(总题数：1，分数：45.00)1.Read the following text(s) and write
38、an essay to1) summarize the main points of the text(s),2) make clear your own viewpoints, and3) justify your stand.In your essay, make full use of the information provided in the text(s). If you use more than three consecutive words from the text(s), use quotation marks(“ “).You should write 160-200
39、 words. Some of the old worries about artificial intelligence were closely linked to the question of whether computers could think. The first massive electronic computers, capable of rapid calculation and little or no creative activity, were soon dubbed “electronic brains“. A reaction to this termin
40、ology quickly followed, computers were called “high speed idiots“, an effort to protect human vanity. But not everyone realized the implications of the high-speed idiot tag. It has not been pointed out enough that even the human idiot is one of the most intelligent life forms on earth. If the early
41、computers were even that intelligent, it was already a remarkable state of affairs. One consequence of speculation about the possibility of computer thought was that we were forced to examine with new care the idea of thought in general. We tend to assume that human beings think, some more than othe
42、rs, though we often call people thoughtless or unthinking. Dreams cause a problem, partly because they usually happen outside our control. They are obviously some type of mental experience, but are they a type of thinking? If thinking is demonstrated by evident electrical activity in the brain, then
43、 many species are capable of thought. And what is true of thought is also true of the many other mental processes. One of the immense benefits of a research is that we are being forced to scrutinize, with new rigor, the working of the human mind. It is already clear that machines have superior menta
44、l abilities to many life forms. No fern or oak tree can play chess as well as even the simplest digital computer, nor can frogs weld car bodies as well as robots. It seems that, viewed in terms of intellect, the computer should be set well above plants and most animals. Only the higher animals can c
45、ompete with computers with regard to intellect and even then with diminishing success. （分数：45.00）_公共英语四级(笔试)-49 答案解析(总分：100.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、Section Listening(总题数：0，分数：0.00)二、Part A(总题数：1，分数：5.00)Information about Computer SecurityThere is an immediate need for computer 1 One way to prevent theft and
46、 inappropriate use is to assign access 2 Computers should also be protected against natural disasters such as power surges, fires and 3 It is important to make backup disks and store them in different 4 Security will continue to be a problem because computer users continue to 5 （分数：5.00）填空项 1:_ （正确答
47、案：security.）解析： security. 听力原文 Clearly, there is an urgent need for computer security. Computer owners must take steps to prevent theft and inappropriate use of their equipment. One way is to assign access codes that are read by the computer from passwords. The user does not have to remember this nu
48、mber, so the number can be complex. Even if the word is stolen, the word can be changed when the theft is reported. Another security problem concerns the protection of the operating system and data on the computer. It is essential that security measures protect all operating systems since unscrupulo
49、us individuals have found ways to prevent the system to print out a list of users“ passwords. Thus, they have access to computers and spread viruses. For this, all sensitive data should be stored and locked up when not in use. Computers should also be protected against natural disasters such as power surges, fires and earthquakes. At the fundamental level, a good surge protector will rule out most power surges. However, disks do
