1、2011年 9月国家公共英语（四级）真题试卷（精选）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 In the past decade, new scientific developments in communications have changed the way many people g
2、ather information about politics. The most important of these new【 C1】 _is the Internet. Recent research suggests the use of the Internet for political information increases the 【 C2】 _of participation. While a(n) 【 C3】 _relationship between Internet news and political participation has been found,
3、a theoretical link as to why the Internet is【 C4】 _from other media forms is largely【 C5】 _This research is an attempt to【 C6】 _the “black-box“ linking the Internet and political participation by building on two theoretical【 C7】 _The first, surge and decline theory, comes out of political science an
4、d the second, media systems dependency theory, 【 C8】 _from communications. Both explanations focus on individual costs and benefits of political participation. The media can【 C9】 _the “costs“ by providing sufficient information to make 【 C10】_decisions about voting. Previous research【 C11】 _that the
5、 Internet benefits the public through the cost side of the equation. One of the medias greatest【 C12】_is information and the public【 C13】 _on media to provide them with the information they need. 【 C14】 _the Internet is capable of providing information【 C15】 _, and from a multitude of sources, one w
6、ould expect it to【 C16】 _. political action through lowering the cost of information. Besides lowering participation costs, the media can【 C17】 _increase the benefits of participation. Intense media【 C18】 _of an event such as an election can【 C19】 _excitement that increases the perceived “benefit“ o
7、f participating. The Internet may encourage a unique participation benefit【 C20】 _increased mobilization efforts. 1 【 C1】 （ A） technologies （ B） materials （ C） concepts （ D） devices 2 【 C2】 （ A） practicability （ B） feasibility （ C） probability （ D） stability 3 【 C3】 （ A） critical （ B） analytical （ C
8、） empirical （ D） technical 4 【 C4】 （ A） specific （ B） unique （ C） particular （ D） peculiar 5 【 C5】 （ A） built （ B） losing （ C） missing （ D） connected 6 【 C6】 （ A） unpack （ B） unroll （ C） untie （ D） unfold 7 【 C7】 （ A） experiments （ B） comments （ C） approaches （ D） investigations 8 【 C8】 （ A） orienta
9、tes （ B） initiates （ C） correlates （ D） originates 9 【 C9】 （ A） alter （ B） decrease （ C） induce （ D） cover 10 【 C10】 （ A） informed （ B） accepted （ C） understood （ D） diversified 11 【 C11】 （ A） declares （ B） denies （ C） promises （ D） argues 12 【 C12】 （ A） databanks （ B） resources （ C） sources （ D） co
10、sts 13 【 C13】 （ A） base （ B） act （ C） rely （ D） live 14 【 C14】 （ A） Because （ B） While （ C） If （ D） Although 15 【 C15】 （ A） casually （ B） objectively （ C） readily （ D） skillfully 16 【 C16】 （ A） advertise （ B） popularize （ C） manage （ D） encourage 17 【 C17】 （ A） also （ B） yet （ C） only （ D） just 18 【
11、 C18】 （ A） interference （ B） statement （ C） coverage （ D） image 19 【 C19】 （ A） generate （ B） promote （ C） install （ D） expose 20 【 C20】 （ A） for （ B） via （ C） at （ D） from Part B Directions: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D . Mark your answ
12、ers on ANSWER SHEET 1. 20 Paul Johnsons A History Of The American People is what we have come to expect from this productive writer clear, colorful narrative, vivid character sketches, marvelous research, sweeping, confident statements, and an insistent conservative viewpoint which tempts him into s
13、erious omissions. He will not conceal his opinions, he tells us. Good. Then we can judge his history free of pretences to objectivity his or ours. Almost at start, we notice something interesting: Johnson passes quickly over a defining moment in American history the Columbus story important because
14、it is the first lesson every American schoolchild learns. How you treat that story what you choose to tell of it signals your view of the longer American experience, reaching to our time. In school textbooks, Columbus has always been presented as a hero. Only recently has a new set of facts always a
15、vailable but ignored begun to get into public attention: that Columbus, on landing, and desperate for gold, encountered native Americans who were peaceful and generous (by his own admission) and tortured them, kidnapped them, enslaved them, murdered them. Johnson, who goes into much detail about oth
16、er matters (like Ronald Reagans jokes) is silent on this. Among his numerous references there is none to Bartolome de las Casas, an eyewitness, who described in detail the horrifying evils committed by Columbus and his fellowmen against the Indians, which resulted in the native population of Hispani
17、ola being wiped out genocide is an appropriate term by the year 1550. I suggest this is not an innocent omission. Johnson wants us to look positively on the history of the United States. Yes, he says, there were “severe wrongs“ committed in “the dispossession of a native people“ and in the instituti
18、on of slavery. But has the US, he asks at the start of his book, “made up for its organic sins“? His whole book suggests that it has, and that in doing so it has become (he says at the end) “a human achievement without parallel, the first, best hope for the human race . Since Johnson has decided tha
19、t the US is “the first, best hope for the human race“, he has shaped its history accordingly. If we prefer to see that history as a complex and unfinished struggle of Americans for justice, against militarism, for economic, racial and sexual equality, we are badly served by a flattering admiration o
20、f those in power, pretending to be a history of “the people“. 21 The first paragraph shows that the authors opinion of the book A History Of The American People is （ A） critical. （ B） objective. （ C） defensive. （ D） admiring. 22 The way people have been treating Columbus story indicates their view o
21、f （ A） the American school education. （ B） great heroes in American history. （ C） the development of American history. （ D） the American society at present. 23 The book makes no reference to Bartolome de las Casas probably because Paul Johnson （ A） is a writer fond of omissions. （ B） isnt tempted to
22、 make references. （ C） bears an inborn hatred for horrifying evils. （ D） doesnt want to see the image of the US stained. 24 The word “genocide“ (Line 8, Paragraph 3) most probably means （ A） killing of people of a particular race. （ B） driving-out of native inhabitants. （ C） extinction of a whole ge
23、neration. （ D） assimilation of ethnic groups. 25 The author would agree with the statement that the US （ A） has compensated the natives for their earlier sufferings. （ B） has never committed serious evils to the natives in history. （ C） has not undone the wrongs committed in history. （ D） has become
24、 the best hope for the human race. 25 In the 21st century theres no doubt that frightening new infectious diseases will appear. Today new viruses are coming out of nature and “discovering“ the human species. Just since 1994, at least 30 new viruses have appeared. Viruses are moving into the human sp
25、ecies because there are more of us all the time. From a virus point of view, we look like a free lunch thats getting bigger. In nature viral diseases tend to break out when populations increase rapidly and become densely packed. Then many deaths occur and the population drops. This is natures popula
26、tion-control mechanism. There is no reason to think the human race is free from the laws of nature. Giving these laws an extra push will be the rise of megacities huge densely packed cities in less developed nations. A United Nations study predicts that by the year 2015, there will be 26 extremely b
27、ig cities on the planet. By then, some megacities could have 30 million or more people. That is approximately the total population of California. Imagine all the people in California crowded together tightly into one vast city. Then remove most doctors and medical care, take away basic sanitation an
28、d hygiene, and you have a biological “time bomb“. Now make eight or ten such “bombs“ and plant them around the world. Also consider the biological weapons the world will be capable of producing in the future. The 20th century saw the creation of great and terrible weapons based on the principles of
29、nuclear physics. The 21st century will see great and terrible weapons based on the knowledge of DNA and the genetic code. As biotechnology becomes more sophisticated and powerful, biologists will learn how to mix genes of different microbes to create unnatural strains that can be turned into deadly,
30、 effective weapons. Biological weapons are a disgrace to biology. Most biologists havent wanted to talk or even think about them. The physicists lost their innocence when the first nuclear bomb went off in 1945. The biologists will lose their innocence when the first biological weapon spreads throug
31、h the human species. Yet the 20th century survived despite the existence of the nuclear bomb. There was great economic and scientific progress and much human happiness. The same can be true in the next century. We may not completely win the 21st century microbe war, but I am confident that we wont l
32、ose it. 26 Infectious diseases are more likely to occur where （ A） different human races are mixed in living. （ B） many people live in crowded communities. （ C） population drops due to natures control mechanism. （ D） new viruses appear for the first time. 27 It can be seen from the text that the aut
33、hor views extremely large cities as a(n) （ A） possible control mechanism of the nature. （ B） terrible burden in terms of public sanitation and hygiene. （ C） potential biological threat to human health. （ D） inevitable outcome of the law of nature. 28 The author implies in the text that （ A） weapons
34、now fall into quite different categories. （ B） biological war may break out any time. （ C） most scientists are against nuclear weapons. （ D） science is liable to be used to create great evils. 29 As to the solution of the problems in the future, the author appears to be （ A） somewhat doubtful. （ B）
35、much skeptical. （ C） moderately optimistic. （ D） extremely desperate. 30 What does the text mainly discuss? （ A） Threats from the new microbes in the next century. （ B） How new viruses affect the human society. （ C） What megacities may bring to human species. （ D） The disastrous effect of nuclear an
36、d biological weapons. 30 Given the fact that each person is only one of approximately 90 million voters in this country, does it make sense to believe that one persons participation, one vote, will have any impact on a major election? Simply to raise the question “What if everyone felt the same way?
37、“ does not remove the lingering impression that a single person is made to feel insignificant by the enormous number of people who do go to the polls, especially in a national election. Supporters of the ruling elite theory insist that even though voters are given a choice among candidates, their ch
38、oice is restricted to a narrow range of similar-minded individuals approved by the ruling “elite. Elections do not express what most people want or need, nor do they provide guidance for politicians (even if they want it) on what policies to enact. In this view, elections are primarily just rituals
39、that perform a symbolic function for society. Still, since most people continue to show faces at the polls at one time or another, what arguments can be made in favor of voting? One argument is that voting does have significance, if not in individual impact, then in group pressure. Because citizens
40、collectively have the power to give or withhold votes, they directly control the term in office of elected officials. Even if the choice is between Tweedledee and Tweedledum, Tweedledee knows that one must be accountable and this is fixed by law, and that minimally he or she must strive to avoid dis
41、pleasing the constituents to lose the job. But perhaps political effectiveness and impact in voting are not the only consideration anyway. People do not vote only to influence policy. Millions go to the effort to register and vote for a variety of other reasons as well. Some people may participate j
42、ust to avoid feeling guilty about not voting. They may have been taught that is their patriotic duty to vote and that they have no right to complain about the outcome if they stay at home. Still others may vote to derive satisfaction from feeling that they are somehow participants, not just spectato
43、rs, in an exciting electoral contest. Even if their one vote may not be crucial to the outcome, it nevertheless affirms theft role in and support for the political process. Indeed, perhaps it is this final need that fuels the desire for full democratic participation among people in many nations of t
44、he world. 31 What is the true nature of elections according to the ruling elite theory? （ A） They are routine practices in a modern society. （ B） They are political gathering for a small number of people. （ C） They are deceptive schemes manipulated by the ruling party. （ D） They are chances for thos
45、e who want to utter their wishes. 32 According to Paragraph 3, people go to the polls because they （ A） believe its their responsibility to vote. （ B） believe their collective power makes a difference. （ C） want to show the strength and impact of each individual. （ D） dont want to risk losing their
46、jobs. 33 “Tweedledee and Tweedledum“ (Line 5, Paragraph 3) is used to refer to （ A） two voting individuals in an election. （ B） whatever parties in office. （ C） whichever candidates in an election. （ D） supporters in different constituencies. 34 What can be learnt from the last two paragraphs? （ A）
47、The end result is decided by every step in the process. （ B） Democracy is more of a practice than of a theory. （ C） Participation will rid voters of any guilty conscience. （ D） Supporting the winner may bring great excitement. 35 Which of the following is the best title for the text? （ A） Why Vote?
48、（ B） How to Vote? （ C） Whom to Vote for? （ D） Do Elections Work? 35 As time goes on, how to do good critical thinking is increasingly marginalized or even left out. of the modem educational process. Critical thinking involves a mental process that is highly disciplined and therefore requires most pr
49、actitioners to be trained in it. This training is best begun in the formative years, and it is best taught by energetic, motivated teachers who continually challenge, and debate, and demand increasingly rigorous thinking of their young students. However, as in all things, it is never too late to begin. Critical thinking is the process of evaluating and analyzing a proposition or an argument that has been offered to the thinker, for criticism, as being true. There foll
