1、专业英语四级-55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、Passage 1(总题数：1，分数：16.00)The venerable 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary contains about 700,000 words, but the editors recently realized they were missing one: Doh! The cartoon character Homer Simpsons forehead-smacking lam
2、ent is one of some 250 entries being added today to the dictionary, which is widely considered the leading authority on the English language. Doh is now defined as Expressing frustration at the realization that things have turned out badly or not as planned, or that one has just said or done somethi
3、ng foolish, according to the new entry in the dictionary. The Simpsons only popularized the term; it was actually used extensively in the 1950s, the OED found. Although it is often spelled Doh, the dictionary chose to omit the apostrophe. Other newcomers to the dictionary include cheesy, which means
4、 second-rate or inferior; six-pack, meaning rippling abdominal muscles, and Bollywood, which refers to the Hindi film industry based in Bombay, India. Well have terms from immuno-biology to gangster rap, says Jesse Sheidlower, who is head of the project for North America. The OEDs staff of 50 editor
5、s is wading through popular culture looking for new words and usages that merit an entry, as part of its 8-year-old million updating project. It is the first complete revision of the dictionary since it was completed in 1928. The principle way we get new entries is to have readers look around the wo
6、rld for things that seem new or significant, says John Simpson, chief editor of the OED. Contributors have included a Nobel laureate and an inmate at an insane asylum, among thousands of others. We have about 200,000 example sentences coming into the department each year. Simpson (John, not Homer) a
7、nd his colleagues whittle that list down to the few that seem to have got a solid foothold in popular usage. He says his job also gives him an excuse to watch a lot of action films, soap operas and quiz shows, to look for more new terms. Many terms are much older than you think they are, says Sheidl
8、ower. Phat, for example, makes its debut in the OED today as a slang term meaning cool. But it has been African-American slang since at least the 1960s, OED researchers found. The word even appeared with its present meaning in Time magazine in 1963. The dictionary contains some surprises for people
9、who think they are using the latest, cutting-edge jargon.（分数：16.00）(1).Which of the following statement is not true about the word Doh?（分数：4.00）A.It was originated by the cartoon character Homer Simpson.B.It keeps its original meaning but changes its original spelling.C.Its popularity returned with
10、the appearance of the Simpsons.D.Its dictionary definition makes no reference to the Simpsons.(2).The 250 new entries added to the dictionary are taken from _.（分数：4.00）A.coined wordsB.entertainment industryC.popular cultureD.non-professional terms(3).John Simpson and his colleagues cut down the numb
11、er of new words based on the principle of _.（分数：4.00）A.economyB.originalityC.significanceD.popularity(4).According to the last paragraph, what surprises will the dictionary bring to the people?（分数：4.00）A.There will be the most novel and popular words in the dictionary.B.People will realize they are
12、not as fashionable as they imagine.C.There will be most helpful words for those who want to be trendy.D.People will realize they are not as knowledgeable as they think.三、Passage 2(总题数：1，分数：24.00)One of the good things for men in womens liberation is that men no longer have to pay women the old-fashi
13、oned courtesies. In an article on the new manners, Ms. Holmes says that a perfectly able woman no longer has to act helplessly in public as if she were a model. For example, she doesnt need help getting in and out of cars. Women get in and out of cars twenty times a day with babies and dogs. Surely
14、they can get out by themselves at night just as easily. She also says there is no reason why a man should walk on the outside of a woman on the sidewalk. Historically, the man walked on the inside so he caught the garbage thrown out of a window. Today a man is supposed to walk on the outside. A man
15、should walk where he wants to. So should a woman. If, out of love and respect, he actually wants to take the blows, he should walk on the insidebecause thats where attackers are all hiding these days. As far as manners are connected, I supposed I have always been a supporter of womens liberation. Ov
16、er the years, out of a sense of respect, I imagine, I have refused to trouble women with outdated courtesies. It is usually easier to follow rules of social behaviour than to depend on ones own taste. But rules may be safely broken, of course, by those of us with the gift of natural grace. For examp
17、le, when a man and woman are led to their table in a restaurant and the waiter pulls out a chair, the woman is expected to sit in the chair. That is according to Ms. Ann Clark. I have always done it the other way, according to my wife. It came up only the other night. I followed the hostess to the t
18、able, and when she pulled the chair out I sat on it, quite naturally, since it happened to be the chair I wanted to sit in. Well, my wife said, when the hostess had gone, you did it again. Did what? I asked, utterly confused. Took the chair. Actually, since Id walked through the restaurant ahead of
19、my wife, it would have been awkward, I should think, not to have taken the chair. I had got there first, after all. Also, it has always been my custom to get in a car first, and let the woman get in by herself. This is a courtesy I insist on as the stronger sex, out of love and respect. In times lik
20、e these, there might be attackers hidden about. It would be unsuitable to put a woman in a car and then shut the door on her, leaving her at the mercy of some bad fellow who might be hiding in the back seat.（分数：24.00）(1).It can be concluded from the passage that _.（分数：4.00）A.men should walk on the i
21、nside of a sidewalkB.women are becoming more capable than beforeC.in womens liberation men are also liberatedD.its safe to break rules of social behaviour(2).The author was utterly confused because he _.（分数：4.00）A.took the chair out of habitB.was trying to be politeC.was slow in understandingD.had f
22、orgotten what he did(3).He took the chair for all the following reasons EXCEPT that _.（分数：4.00）A.he got to the chair firstB.he happened to like the seatC.his wife ordered him to do soD.hed walked ahead of his wife(4).The author always gets in a ear before a woman because he _.（分数：4.00）A.wants to pro
23、tect herB.doesnt need to help herC.chooses to be impolite to herD.fears attacks on him(5).The author is _ about the whole question of manners and womens liberation.（分数：4.00）A.jokingB.satiricalC.seriousD.critical(6).Which of the following best states the main idea of the passage?（分数：4.00）A.Manners ou
24、ght to be thrown away altogether.B.In manners one should follow his own judgement.C.Women no longer need to be helped in public.D.Men are not expected to be courteous to women.四、Passage 3(总题数：1，分数：20.00)People have been painting pictures for at least 30,000 years. The earliest pictures were painted
25、by people who hunted animals. They used to paint pictures of the animals they wanted to catch and kill. Pictures of this kind have been found on the walls of caves in France and Spain. No one knows why they were painted there. Perhaps the painters thought that their pictures would help them to catch
26、 these animals. Or perhaps human beings have always wanted to tell stories in pictures. About 5,000 years ago the Egyptians and other people in the Near East began to use pictures as a kind of wilting. They drew simple pictures or signs to represent things and ideas, and also to represent the sounds
27、 of their language. The signs these people used became a kind of alphabet. The Egyptians used to record information and to tell stories by putting picture-writing and pictures together. When an important person died, scenes and stories from his life were painted and carved on the walls of the place
28、where he was buried. Some of these pictures are like modern comic-strip (连环漫画) smiles. It has been said that Egypt is the home of the comic strip. But, for the Egyptians, pictures still had magic power. So they did not try to make their way of writing simple. The ordinary people could not understand
29、 it. By the year 1,000 BC, people who lived in the area around the Mediterranean Sea had developed a simpler system of writing. The signs they used were very easy to write, and there were fewer of them than in the Egyptian system. This was because each sign, or letter, represented only one sound in
30、their language. The Greeks developed this system and formed the letters of the Greek alphabet. The Romans copied the idea, and the Roman alphabet is now used all over the world. These days, we can write down a story, or record information, without using pictures. But we still need pictures of all ki
31、nds: drawings, photographs, signs and diagrams. We find them everywhere: in books and newspapers, in the street, and on the walls of the places where we live and work. Pictures help us to understand and remember things more easily, and they can make a story much more interesting.（分数：20.00）(1).Pictur
32、es of animals were painted on the walls of caves in France and Spain because _.（分数：5.00）A.the hunters wanted to see the picturesB.the painters were animal loversC.the painters wanted to show imaginationD.the pictures were thought to be helpful(2).The Greek alphabet was simpler than the Egyptian syst
33、em for all the following reasons EXCEPT that _.（分数：5.00）A.the former was easy to writeB.there were fewer signs in the formerC.the former was easy to pronounceD.each sign stood for only one sound(3).Which of the following statements is TRUE?（分数：5.00）A.The Egyptian signs later became a particular alph
34、abet.B.The Egyptians liked to write comic-strip stories.C.The Roman alphabet was developed from the Egyptian one.D.The Greeks copied their writing system from the Egyptians.(4).In the last paragraph, the author thinks that pictures _.（分数：5.00）A.should be made comprehensibleB.should be made interesti
35、ngC.are of much use in our lifeD.are disappearing from our life五、Passage 4(总题数：1，分数：20.00)Surprisingly, no one knows how many children receive education in English hospitals, still less the content or quality of that education. Proper records are just no! kept. We know that more than 850,000 childre
36、n go through hospital each year, and that every child of school age has a legal right to continue to receive education while in hospital. We also know there is only one hospital teacher to every 1,000 children in hospital. Little wonder the latest survey concludes that the extent and type of hospita
37、l teaching available differ a great deal across the country. It is found that half the hospitals in England which admit children have no teacher. A further quarter have only a part-time teacher. The special childrens hospitals in major cities do best; general hospitals in the country and holiday are
38、as are worst off. From this survey, one can estimate that fewer than one in five children have some contact with a hospital teacherand that contact may be as little as two hours a day. Most children interviewed were surprised to find a teacher in hospital at all. They had not been prepared for it by
39、 parents or their own school. If there was a teacher they were much more likely to read books and do math or number work; without a teacher they would only play games. Reasons for hospital teaching range from preventing a child falling behind and maintaining the habit of school to keeping a child oc
40、cupied, and the latter is often all the teacher can do. The position and influence of many teachers was summed up when parents referred to them as the library lady or just the helper. Children tend to rely on concerned school friends to keep in touch with school work. Several parents spoke of reques
41、ts for work being ignored or refused by the school. Once back at school, children rarely get extra teaching, and are told to catch up as best they can. Many short-stay child-patients catch up quickly. But schools do very little to ease the anxiety about falling behind expressed by many of the childr
42、en interviewed.（分数：20.00）(1).The author points out at the beginning that _.（分数：5.00）A.every child in hospital receives some teachingB.not enough is known about hospital teachingC.hospital teaching is of poor qualityD.the special childrens hospitals are worst off(2).It can be inferred from the latest
43、 survey that _.（分数：5.00）A.hospital teaching across the country is similarB.each hospital has at least one part-time teacherC.all hospitals surveyed offer education to childrenD.only one-fourth of the hospitals have full-time teachers(3).Children in hospital usually turn to _ in order to catch up wit
44、h their school work.（分数：5.00）A.hospital teachersB.schoolmatesC.parentsD.school teachers(4).We can conclude from the passage that the author is _.（分数：5.00）A.unfavourable towards children receiving education in hospitalsB.in favour of the present state of teaching in hospitalsC.unsatisfied with the pr
45、esent state of hospital teachingD.satisfied with the results of the latest survey六、Passage 5(总题数：1，分数：20.00)Clearly if we are to participate in the society in which we live we must communicate with other people. A great deal of communicating is performed on a person-to-person basis by the simple mea
46、ns of speech. If we travel in buses, buy things in shops, or eat in restaurants, we are likely to have conversations where we give information or opinions, receive news or comment, and very likely have our views challenged by other members of society. Face-to-face contact is by no means the only for
47、m of communication and during the last two hundred years the art of mass communication has become one of the dominating factors of contemporary society. Two things, above others, have caused the enormous growth of the communication industry. Firstly, inventiveness has led to advances in printing, te
48、lecommunications, photography, radio and television. Secondly, speed has revolutionised the transmission and reception of communications so that local news often takes a back seat to national news, which itself is often almost eclipsed by international news. No longer is the possession of information confined to a privileged minority. In the last century the wealthy man with his own library was indeed fortunate, but today
