1、2008年 9月国家公共英语（四级）真题试卷及答案与解析 一、 Section II Use of English (15 minutes) Directions: Read the following text. Choose the best word for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on ANSWER SHEET 1. 0 Many people who fly at least occasionally have come down with a cold or the flu shortly after disembarki
2、ng. Is the air in airborne commercial jets【 21】 _? The Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), 【 22】 _which 42, 000 flight attendants with 27 airlines are represented, evidently thinks so. The organization claims that the incidence of air-quality-related diseases has【 23】 _among its members and dema
3、nds that prompt actions be【 24】 _to improve the conditions in the airplane cabin. A study the AFA【 25】 _in 1997 uncovered about 1, 000 self-reported incidents of headaches, dizziness and memory loss【 26】 _flight attendants and passengers. Some flight attendants were too ill to【 27】 _their safety dut
4、ies, while others have been permanently disabled. Because of airlines efforts to【 28】 _their expenses, cabin-air filters are not cleaned【 29】 _. The complaints of flight attendants do not always give【 30】_to correct maintenance. Airlines turned to recycled air, 【 31】 _that they would reduce some of
5、their costs. They are not required to put filters in. Airlines are【 32】 _great pressure to get their flights out【 33】 _. So they do not pay as much attention to systems that are not as【 34】 _to flight schedule and safety. Recent research findings emphasize the concern that filters can【 35】 _engine c
6、hemicals into the cabin air. This may not happen【 36】 _every flight, but it is a persistent problem. In a study published in October 1998 an investigation was made【 37】_complaints of crew members【 38】 _air quality and health. More than half of the 200 subjects reported health problems they【 39】 _to
7、cabin air. It was concluded that these health problems were consistent with【 40】 _harmful gases and substances. 1 【 21】 （ A） humid （ B） unhealthy （ C） unbearable （ D） crisp 2 【 22】 （ A） of （ B） in （ C） by （ D） to 3 【 23】 （ A） suspended （ B） dropped （ C） raised （ D） increased 4 【 24】 （ A） taken （ B）
8、done （ C） made （ D） given 5 【 25】 （ A） founded （ B） underlined （ C） considered （ D） undertook 6 【 26】 （ A） between （ B） within （ C） among （ D） inside 7 【 27】 （ A） perform （ B） achieve （ C） comprehend （ D） proceed 8 【 28】 （ A） decline （ B） cut （ C） shrink （ D） save 9 【 29】 （ A） definitely （ B） effici
9、ently （ C） smoothly （ D） regularly 10 【 30】 （ A） hope （ B） attention （ C） rise （ D） chance 11 【 31】 （ A） confided （ B） promised （ C） ensured （ D） convinced 12 【 32】 （ A） beyond （ B） under （ C） against （ D） below 13 【 33】 （ A） on time （ B） at once （ C） in line （ D） in turn 14 【 34】 （ A） influential （
10、 B） inevitable （ C） critical （ D） efficient 15 【 35】 （ A） enclose （ B） block （ C） introduce （ D） detect 16 【 36】 （ A） by （ B） on （ C） at （ D） along 17 【 37】 （ A） on （ B） from （ C） to （ D） in 18 【 38】 （ A） concerning （ B） including （ C） relating （ D） attaching 19 【 39】 （ A） presented （ B） attributed
11、（ C） blamed （ D） appealed 20 【 40】 （ A） exposure to （ B） exploration of （ C） formation of （ D） compensation for Part B Directions: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D . Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. 20 Revolutionary innovation is now oc
12、curring in all scientific and technological fields. This waveof unprecedented change is driven primarily by advances in information technology, but it is much larger in scope. We are not dealing simply with an Information Revolution but with a Technology Revolution. To anticipate developments in thi
13、s field, the George Washington University Forecast of Emerging Technologies was launched at the start of the 1990s. We have now completed four rounds of our Delphi survey in 1990, 1992, 1994, and 1996 giving us a wealth of data and experience. We now can offer a reasonably clear picture of what can
14、be expected to happen in technology over the next three decades. Time horizons play a crucial role in forecasting technology. Forecasts of the next five to ten years are often so predictable that they fall into the realm of market research, while those more than 30 or 40 years away are mostly specul
15、ation. This leaves a 10-to 20-year window in which to make useful forecasts. It is this time frame that our Forecast addresses. The Forecast uses diverse methods, including environmental scanning, trend analysis, Delphi surveys, and model building. Environmental scanning is used to identify emerging
16、 technologies. Trend analysis guides the selection of the most important technologies for further study, and a modified Delphi survey is used to obtain forecasts. Instead of using the traditional Delphi method of providing respondents with immediate feedback and requesting additional estimates in or
17、der to arrive at a consensus, we conduct another survey after an additional time period of about two years. Finally, the results are portrayed in time periods to build models of unfolding technological change. By using multiple methods instead of relying on a single approach, the Forecast can produc
18、e more reliable, useful estimates. For our latest survey conducted in 1996, we selected 85 emerging technologies representing the most crucial advances that can be foreseen. We then submitted the list of technologies to our panel of futurists for their judgments as to when (or if) each technological
19、 development would enter the mainstream, the probability that it would happen, and the estimated size of the economic market for it. In short, we sought a forecast as to when each emerging technology will have actually “ emerged. “ 21 What we are faced with at present can be best described as a revo
20、lution in （ A） information. （ B） advanced method. （ C） science. （ D） technology. 22 The purpose of the Delphi survey is to （ A） foresee future technologies. （ B） influence future technologies. （ C） provide new technologies. （ D） design new technologies. 23 Market researchers focus on the technologie
21、s that will emerge in （ A） 5-10 years. （ B） 10-20 years. （ C） 20 -30 years. （ D） 30 -40 years. 24 Various research methods are employed in order to （ A） reach a consensus of opinions. （ B） provide immediate feedback. （ C） increase the accuracy of predictions. （ D） select crucial technologies. 25 The
22、 job of the futurist is to （ A） estimate the frequency of technological developments. （ B） forecast the significant technologies of the future. （ C） prepare the potential market for each technology. （ D） adjust the time of arrival of new technologies. 25 With a new Congress drawing near, Democrats a
23、nd Republicans are busily designing competing economic stimulus packages. The Republicans are sure to offer tax cuts, the Democrats among other things financial relief for the states. There is one measure, however, that would provide not only an immediate boost to the economy but also immediate reli
24、ef to those most in need: a carefully crafted extension of the federal unemployment insurance program. The Senate approved such an extension before it adjourned in November. The House of Representatives refused to go along. It was among the greatest failures of the 107th Congress. One consequence is
25、 that jobless benefits for an estimated 780, 000 Americans will abruptly stop tomorrow, even though most recipients have not yet exhausted their benefits. President Bush failed to show any leadership on this matter during the November Congress. Later, he finally askedCongress to extend the program f
26、or these workers and to make the benefits effective from Dec. 28. Thats not enough. The way unemployment insurance typically works is that states provide laid-off workers with 26 weeks of benefits, followed by 13 weeks of federal aid. Under Mr. Bushs scheme, federal benefits would be extended only f
27、or those who were already receiving them on Dec. 28. The extension would not cover the jobless workers who will exhaust their regular state-funded benefits after Dec. 28 an estimated 95, 000 every week but will receive no federal help unless the program is re-authorized. By the end of March , 1.2 mi
28、llion workers could fall into this category. The Senate saw this problem coming, and under the leadership of Hillary Rodham Clinton for New York and Don Nickles of Oklahoma, passed a bill that would not only have covered people already enrolled in the federal program but provided 13 weeks of assista
29、nce for those losing their state benefits in the new year. The House, for largely trivial reasons, refused to go along. Bill Frist, the new Senate majority leader, says he is looking for ways to put a kinder, gentler face on the Republican Party. Passing the Clinton-Nickles bill would be a good way
30、to begin. The House should then follow suit. One of the Houses complaints last year was that, at $ 5 billion, the Clinton-Nickles bill was too expensive. Thats ridiculous, considering the costs of the tax cuts that House Republicans have in mind. The unemployment rate last month stood at 6 percent,
31、the highest since mid-1994. The country could use a $ 5 billion shot in the arm right about now. So could a lot of increasingly desperate people. 26 According to the author, the proposed extension is （ A） what the coming Congress should reconsider. （ B） excluded from the economic stimulus packages.
32、（ C） a relief program carefully designed by the House. （ D） put forward by both Republicans and Democrats. 27 What does the author refer to as one of the greatest failures of the 107th Congress? （ A） The House of Representatives did not agree with the Senate. （ B） The unemployment insurance extensio
33、n was not approved. （ C） A boost to the economy was not provided. （ D） Relief to those in need was not offered. 28 Who may benefit from the Clinton-Nickles bill? （ A） Only those enrolled in the federal program. （ B） The estimated 95, 000 unemployed workers. （ C） Just those exhausting their state-fun
34、ded benefits. （ D） Laid-off workers, with or without federal benefits. 29 Why did the author say the Houses complaint was ridiculous? （ A） The reasons it offers are largely insignificant. （ B） The Clinton-Nickles bill was too expensive. （ C） Its tax cuts proposal is even more costly. （ D） The estima
35、ted cost for the bill is just $ 5 billion. 30 How does the author feel about the Presidents request for the extension and its coverage? （ A） Short of vision. （ B） Late and incomplete. （ C） Lacking in consistency. （ D） Exhaustive but ineffective. 30 Human intelligence and the IQ scales used to measur
36、e it once again are becoming the focus of fiery debate. As argument rages over declining test scores in the nations schools, an old but explosive issue is reappearing; What is intelligence and is it determined largely by genetics? The controversy erupted more than a decade ago when some U. S. schola
37、rs saw a racial pattern in the differing scores of students taking intelligence and college-entrance tests. Now, the racial issue is being joined by others. Teachers, psychologists, scientists and lawyers argue over the question of whether IQ intelligence quotient tests actually measure mental abili
38、ty, or if findings are skewed by such factors as family background, poverty and emotional disorders. Moreover, some authorities assert that the rise in the number of college-educated Americans and their tendency to marry among themselves are creating a class of supersmart children of brainy parents
39、and, on the other side of the scale, a lumpenproletariat of children reflecting the supposedly inferior brainpower of their parents. Critics such as Harvard University biologist Richard C. Lewontin disagree. If mental ability were largely determined by inheritance, he says, efforts to enhance intell
40、igence through the betterment of both home and child-rearing environments could only be marginally effective. He comments : “ Genetic determinism could be used to justify existing social injustice as predetermined and inevitable and would render efforts made toward equalitarian goals as useless. “ S
41、upporting Lewontin in this is J. McVicker Hunt, a professor at the University of Illinois, who maintains that IQ levels can be raised significantly by exposing children at an early age to stimulating environments. Hunts studies show that early help in such areas as education and nutrition can raise
42、a childs IQ by an average of 30 to 35 points. At stake in the uproar over IQ is the national commitment to improve the capabilities of the poor by investing billions of dollars annually in educational, medical and job programs. 31 The controversy over IQ tests is reappearing because of （ A） the newl
43、y found racial pattern underlying students performance. （ B） the worsening students performance in their studies. （ C） the long-standing division in the definition of intelligence. （ D） the dubious IQ scales used to measure intelligence. 32 The word “skewed“ (Line 3, Paragraph 4)most probably means
44、（ A） determined. （ B） directed. （ C） disclosed. （ D） distorted. 33 According to some authorities, there will be expected a class of supersmart children because of （ A） the booming of higher learning. （ B） the revived zeal for marriage. （ C） the denial of the supposed inferiority of parents. （ D） the
45、 shift of one scale of measurement to another. 34 In the view of biologist Lewontin, intelligence （ A） was a matter of genetic traits. （ B） had little to do with environments. （ C） could be improved with human efforts. （ D） was profoundly affected by inheritance. 35 From the text we can infer that （
46、 A） the commitment to improve the capacities of the poor will hardly be made. （ B） the investment in educational, medical and job programs is non-profitable. （ C） the author disapproves the idea of genetic determination. （ D） there will soon be an uproar over IQ tests. 35 Queuse are long. Life is sh
47、ort. So why waste time waiting when you can pay someone to do it for you? In Washington D. C. a city that struggles with more than its share of bureaucratic practices a small industry is emerging that will queue for you to get everything from a drivers license to a seat in a congressional hearing. M
48、ichael Dbrsey, one of the pioneering“service expediters“, began going to traffic courts for other people back in 1988. Today his fees start at $ 20 and can go into the thousands to plead individual cases at the Bureau of Traffic Adjudication (his former employer). Mr. Dorsey knows what a properly wr
49、itten parking ticket looks like, and often gets fines invalidated on its failures in formality. His clients include congressmen and diplomats, as well as firms for which tickets are an occupational hazard, such as taxi operators and television broadcasters. Service expediters are not universally loved. Non-tax income, like fines and fees, makes up a-bout 7% of local-government revenue in Washington. Mr. Dorsey alone relieves that fund of $ 150,
