1、专业英语四级-68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、TEXT A(总题数：2，分数：25.00)Scottish customs and traditions cover a very wide range of topics. Everything from kilts to golf, bagpipes to whisky, Celtic crosses to Protestant missionary work, the second sight to Nessie. The history
2、 of the bagpipes takes us a long way back from today and far away from Scotland. Everyone thinks about Scotland when they hear the word bagpipe, but this instrument is so old that true age and origin are unknown. In some historical documents it is written that the pipes were first played somewhere a
3、round Asia Minor in 1000 BC. Also, it is said, by some, that Emperor Nero played the Pipes not the fiddle, while Rome burned. Some form of bagpipes are used in many European countries but in Scotland they have become an integral part of the countrys culture. Scotland is the ancestral home of the Gre
4、at Highland Bagpipes known to all as the Great Pipes. A Pipe band is one thing that every visitor of Scotland wants to see. These are groups of men (in modern times it can be both men and women); each group has matching skirts, fancy jackets and strange little hats. They march around squeezing the a
5、ir out of big tartan bags (known as bagpipes) and blowing it in again through a pipe attached to the bag. This results in a racket known as the skirl o the pipes which is almost indistinguishable from the noise made by the haggis during the mating season. These pipe bands often turn out to be Austra
6、lians, not Scots at all! The tartan kilt has long been the most recognizable cultural tradition of the Highland Scots, but just like the other symbols, kilts have also an unknown origin. One sure fact is that the wearing of the kilt has been developed in the 19th century during the reign of Queen Vi
7、ctoria. It had been created for some rational reasons: men who wore it could make very quick moves, wade through rivers and shelter in huts, woods and rocks, etc. There is a question which will always linger next to the word kilt and that is: Do people who wear kilts have underwear or not? Even thou
8、gh there are lots of people who consider this immoral , the tradition says that underwear should not be present if one is dressed in a kilt, the only exception being the participation to some sportive games and the presence of women. In the 50s, soldiers were verified if they wore underwear by their
9、 sergeants who used a long stick that had in the top a mirror. Other two reasons for which Scotland is famous are its traditional food and of course, whisky. No one could argue that traditional Scottish cooking has produced one of the great cuisines of the world. The quality of the ingredients has a
10、lways been excellent: the worlds finest seafood including shellfish, lobster and crabs, and varieties of fish too numerous to mention; succulent lamb and beef; soft fruit including raspberries, strawberries and blackberries and a host of locally produced types of cheese, including cheddar from Ayrsh
11、ire and Galloway. The national dish is the haggis, a type of food that combines mutton with other ingredients and which is served with turnip and potatoes. Whisky has been produced in Scotland for hundreds of years. It is well known that the Irish created this alcoholic drink, but the Scots were the
12、 ones who brought it to the form that we drink today. Whisky refers to a broad category of alcoholic beverages that are distilled from grains and aged in oak casks. The name means water of life.（分数：12.50）(1).Emperor Nero was mentioned to illustrate _.（分数：2.50）A.the legendary origin of bagpipesB.the
13、relation between bagpipes and Minor AsiaC.the higher importance of bagpipes over fiddlesD.the cultural significance of bagpipes(2).Which of the following descriptions is suitable for the bagpipe performance?（分数：2.50）A.Bagpipe bands used to consist of male Australians only.B.Bagpipes are played to im
14、itate the noise of mating haggis.C.Bagpipe bands must dress in specific performance costumes.D.Bagpipes are too heavy to carry around during the performance.(3).A lot of people consider it immoral to _.（分数：2.50）A.ask whether people who wear kilts have underwearB.wear a kilt without having underwearC
15、.have underwear when wearing a kiltD.set up such a privacy-violating rule of kilt-wearing(4).Ayrshire and Galloway are most probably famous for _.（分数：2.50）A.their excellent fruitB.their cheese productionC.the national dish, the haggisD.the traditional Scottish cooking(5).The author chose to only int
16、roduce bagpipes, kilts, food and whisky because _.（分数：2.50）A.the author had greatest delight in themB.the author was best-informed about themC.they are more interesting than other customs and traditionsD.they are more famous than other customs and traditionsSky-high gasoline prices arent just raisin
17、g the cost of Eugene Marinos 120-mile (193-kilometer) round-trip to his job in the Washington area. Theyre reducing his wealth, too. House prices in his rural subdivision beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains in Charles Town, West Virginia, have plunged as commuting expenses have soared. A four-bedroom ho
18、me down the street from his is listed for $239,000, after selling new for $360,000 five years ago. Homeowners in the exurbs arent the only ones whose assets have taken a hit because of the surge in energy costs. Companies such as General Motors Corp. are writing off billions of dollars in plants and
19、 equipment that are no longer viable in an age of dearer oil. The destruction of wealth and capital will weigh on U.S. growth for years to come. Our whole economy reflects the relative costs of energy: the cars we drive, the houses we occupy, the kinds of factories we have and the equipment in them,
20、 says Dana Johnson, chief economist at Comerica Bank in Dallas. Im expecting relatively large changes in all of these things. The loss of wealth could be a double whammy for the U.S. economy. In the short run, it depresses demand as homeowners save more and spend less, and companies fire workers. Lo
21、nger run, it curbs productivity growth, as firms shift their focus from increasing worker efficiency to reducing energy costs. At $4 per gallon gas, $125 per barrel oil and $10 per million Btu natural gas, a lot of activity becomes uneconomical, says Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moodys E in West C
22、hester, Pennsylvania. The lifestyle of the exurban commuter may be one casualty. Emerging suburbs and exurbscommuter towns that lie beyond cities and their traditional suburbsgrew about 15 percent from 2000 to 2006, nearly three times as fast as the U.S. population, as Americans moved further out in
23、 search of more affordable houses or the bigger ones that are sometimes derided as McMansions. It was drive until you qualify for a mortgage, says Robert Lang, director of the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech in Alexandria, Virginia. You cant do that anymore. Your cost of transportation will
24、spike too much.（分数：12.50）(1).What change has been brought to Marinos life?（分数：2.50）A.He had to go to work by bus instead of by car.B.He had to move to a poorer neighborhood.C.His apartment can be sold at a higher price now.D.His assets have been reduced much in value.(2).Because the sharp increase i
25、n energy cost, General Motors Corp. has to _.（分数：2.50）A.sell some plants and equipment in the redB.cancel some valuable plants and equipmentC.seek for more advanced plants and equipmentD.set aside higher budget for plants and equipment(3).Compared with the present, the loss of wealth will bring abou
26、t _.（分数：2.50）A.a shrinking marketB.shortage of labor forceC.weakening productivityD.a lower working efficiency(4).Exurbs most probably refers to _.（分数：2.50）A.regions situated farther away from city than suburbsB.rural areas where residents have to commute to workC.suburbs with high-end facilitiesD.i
27、ntelligent residential districts(5).According to Robert Lang, driving is considered _.（分数：2.50）A.unaffordable by mortgagersB.unpopular by mortgagersC.wasteful by commutersD.economical by commuters三、TEXT B(总题数：2，分数：25.00)The first day of school one of my classmates began a talk with me that changed m
28、y life. She said, Hi, handsome. My name is Rose. Im eighty-seven years old. Why are you in college at such an age? I asked. I always dreamed of having a college education and now Im getting one! she told me. After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake. We bec
29、ame instant friends. At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet and Ill never forget what she taught us. She cleared her throat and began: We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. There are only four secrets to staying young, be
30、ing happy and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor each and every day. Youve got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die. We have so many people walking around who are dead and they dont even know it! There is a giant difference between growing older and growing up. If you
31、 are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and dont do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight. Anybody can grow older. That doesnt take any talent or ability. The ide
32、a is to grow up by always finding the opportunity in change. Have no regrets. The elderly usually dont have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets. She concluded her speech by courageously singing The Rose. She challenged e
33、ach of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives. At years end, Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago. One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep. Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman
34、 who taught by example that its never too late to be all you can possibly be.（分数：12.50）(1).What is the meaning of We became instant friends in Para. 5?（分数：2.50）A.We became friends right after the class.B.We never talked to each other after then.C.We did not keep our friendship for a long time.D.We o
35、ften helped each other after making friends.(2).Rose was invited to speak at the football banquet most probably because _.（分数：2.50）A.she was a great football fanB.she tried hard to achieve her dreamsC.she became more educated than the professorsD.she was an outstanding student at the university(3).R
36、ose will agree with the idea that _.（分数：2.50）A.growing older means growing upB.one can grow up without doing anythingC.it takes ones talent and ability to grow upD.one grows older at the same time when he grows up(4).According to Rose, people will not fear death when _.（分数：2.50）A.they fulfill all th
37、ey want toB.they still have dreams to fulfillC.they become elderly peopleD.they find the chances in change(5).The passage is intended to _.（分数：2.50）A.tell a moving story about RoseB.discuss what to do to grow upC.instruct the readers how to live up to livesD.teach the readers how to realize their dr
38、eamsPeople who work in the theatre are very superstitious, and there are a number of unusual superstitions connected with the theatre. Many actors carry a lucky charma coin, perhaps a doll. This charm is usually one which brought the actor success early in his career, and he always puts it on his dr
39、essing-table among his make-up and good-luck messages. Other actors choose articles of clothing for their mascot. Many dancers have a ballet shoe which belonged to another dancer whom they admire. The American actor Glenn Ford always wore as his mascot a blue and red neck-tie bought with his very fi
40、rst pay packet when he was employed as a juvenile lead. The singer Frankie Vaughan will never travel without his lucky silver-topped cane. The dressing-room has a set of superstitions all of its own. Many actors have a very precise way of setting out their make-up, and will not alter the position of
41、 one single object. Shoes must never be placed on the dressing-table, as this will certainly bring bad luck to the player and the production. It is most unlucky for one actor to look over the shoulder of another who is looking into the mirror, as a double reflection is linked to the old fear of bein
42、g watched by the evil eye. You must never whistle in the dressing-room. If by mistake you do, the bad luck can be avoided if you immediately leave the room, turn around three times in an anticlockwise direction, swear vilely, and knock on the door. People in the room may then give you permission to
43、re-enter. This superstition dates back to the seventeenth-century belief about evil witches, who could whistle up an unfavourable wind, i.e. the failure of the play! There is a common belief among the actors that a bad dress rehearsal means a good first night. This comes from an ancient idea that it
44、 is unwise to complete any progress as it might cause a reaction from the gods. For this same reason, the very last line of a play is never spoken during the rehearsal. Certain plays have always had bad luck, and it is quite true that misfortunes have often followed such productions. Shakespeares Ma
45、cbeth is always considered to be a dangerously unlucky play. In Shakespeares time, the witches song was seen as having the power of a real curse. Even today, many actors are reluctant to take part in the production of Macbeth as they are afraid that it will bring danger and will not even call the pl
46、ay by its name. Usually actors call Macbeth that Scottish play. On stage the colour green is considered unlucky, and so are real flowers. Knitting is also unlucky, since it is supposed to knot the production and cause problems. This list is endless, and of course nobody can ever prove or disprove wh
47、ether these superstitions have any justification. Actors are not scientists, however, but artists, and they do not require scientific proof for what they feel to be true. Instead of wishing a fellow actor good luck as he goes on stage, he is told break a leg!it seems pointless to look to facts or lo
48、gic for explanations. So long as actors and the theatre livesuperstitions will live!（分数：12.50）(1).The silver-topped cane is most probably _.（分数：2.50）A.one of Frankie Vaughans clothing accessoriesB.a mascot that brought Frankie Vaughan early successC.given to Frankie Vaughan by some singer he admiredD.Frankie Vaughans first award-winning record(2).Many actors believe that _ will result in successful performan
