1、专业英语四级（阅读）模拟试卷 142及答案与解析 一、 SECTION A In this section there are several passages followed by ten multiple-choice questions. For each question, there are four suggested answers marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that you think is the best answer. 0 (1)Spanning the ocean divide between the U.S. and
2、Russia, it is one of the richest and most commercially productive marine environments on earth, teeming with pollack and halibut, fur seals and Stellers sea lions, puffins and murres. The seals and seabirds depend on catching fish, and so do humans. More than 2,000 boats from the U.S., Russia, Japan
3、, Norway, China, Poland and the Koreas haul in an annual catch worth roughly $1 billion. The portion taken off the shores of Alaska alone amounts to one-half the sea life caught by commercial fishing vessels in U.S. waters. (2)But will the bounty last? Since the majority of the worlds fisheries are
4、in a state of collapse, as too many boats chase too few fish, conservationists fear the same fate for the Bering Sea, the last great refuge of marine abundance. Competition among countries for the rights to fish certain sectors of the sea is already fierce and could turn violent, as it has elsewhere
5、 in the world. The Russians have severely depleted fish stocks in their zone, and the international area open to all boats, called the Doughnut Hole, has been nearly stripped of commercial fish. (3)No species is more important to man and beast than pollack, the No. 1 ingredient of frozen fish sticks
6、 and the fish items served by chains like Burger King and Long John Silver. Each year the Bering Sea yields two billion kg of this bottom-dwelling creature, making the pollack business the biggest fish harvest in the world. (4)On the surface, that business is healthy: the pollack catch has stayed ne
7、ar record levels. But signs of overfishing and an ailing ecosystem can be seen higher up in the food chain. The fur-seal population has not increased despite a long-standing ban on commercial hunting. The number of Stellers sea lions, which feed mostly on pollack, has plunged 80% in the past years,
8、and seabirds such as the red-legged kittiwake are also in trouble. (5)The pollack harvest may be huge, but that doesnt mean the fish is still abundant everywhere. If commercial fishermen overfish a spot near nursing sea lions, both mothers and pups can starve. Thats why the Trustees for Alaska, a pu
9、blic interest law firm, has sued the U.S. government for failing to protect areas vital to endangered marine mammals. The groups litigation director, Peter Van Tuyn, points out that in southeast Alaskan waters, where there is little industrial fishing of pollack, the sea lion population has held up
10、relatively well. And fur seals in the Pribilofs have done better than sea lions, perhaps because they have a more varied diet. (6)Less fortunate are other creatures that get in the fishermens way. Dorothy Childers, executive director of the Alaska Marine Conservation Council, notes that fishing boat
11、s aiming to catch pollack dump halibut and salmon over the side and that the value of wasted fish in the Bering Sea is equivalent to 25% of the revenues from the entire fishery. Many trawlers drag nets and other gear across the sea floor, destroying the habitat of all the animals that live on the bo
12、ttom. International agreements restrict the size of fishing nets, but environmental groups like the World Wildlife Fund urge stronger action: enforcing a new agreement to stop bottom trawling for pollack, reducing the pressure on certain areas and putting critical habitats off limits. (7)Even if fis
13、hing is brought under control, the Bering Sea faces threats that originate thousands of miles away. Wind currents from industrial areas far to the south bring in pollutants like insecticides and heavy metals, which collect in the tissues of wild life and the local Inuit people. At the same time the
14、region has been warming up, and part of the reason may be the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Whatever the cause, sea ice has been retreating farther to the north, making life harder for polar bears and other ice-dwelling animals. 1 What is true about the marine creatures in the Berin
15、g Sea? （ A） Russia tries to save the sea by stocking fewer fish. （ B） There are still abundant marine creatures there. （ C） It will soon be stripped of commercial fish. （ D） There are too many boats but too few fish. 2 By saying that pollack is “bottom-dwelling“ creature, the author means that polla
16、ck _. （ A） lives deep down in the seabed （ B） is fundamental to good health （ C） is least influenced by humans （ D） is low down in the food chain 3 The passage mainly tries to remind us to be aware _. （ A） of the various threats to the Bering Sea now （ B） of the impact of commercial activities on th
17、e Bering Sea （ C） that overfishing will endanger the whole ecosystem （ D） that it is essential to accord commerce with ecosystem 3 (1)Two years ago this month, Doubleday published a historical thriller with an announced first printing of 85,000 and high hopes that a little-known writer named Dan Bro
18、wn would catch on with the general public. (2)“We surely expected to have a huge success, but I dont think anyone dreamed it would become a historic publication,“ says Stephen Rubin, president and publisher of the Doubleday Broadway Publishing Group. (3)If the Harry Potter books stand as the essenti
19、al popular read for young people, men The Da Vinci Code has captured the crown for grown-ups. A word-of-mouth sensation from the moment it came out, Browns controversial mix of storytelling and speculation remains high on best-seller lists even as it begins its third year since publication. (4)Twent
20、y-five million books, in 44 languages, are in print worldwide and no end is in sight. Booksellers expect The Da Vinci Code to remain a best-seller well into 2005. A planned film version by Oscar-winning director Ron Howard should bring in even more readers. And at a time when consumers are supposedl
21、y minding their budgets, sales for the $24.95 hardcover have been so good that Doubleday still has set no date for a paperback. (5)“Its been our No. 1 fiction book for two years in a row, and I cant remember another time that happened,“ said Bob Wietrak, vice president of merchandising for Barnes &
22、Noble Inc. “People come into our store all the time and ask for it or ask for books that are like it.“ (6)Thanks to The Da Vinci Code, about the only books that seem able to keep up are Browns previous novels. Deception Point, first released in 2001, now has 3.7 million copies in print, according to
23、 Simon & Schuster, Browns previous publisher. Angels and Demons, published in 2000 and featuring “Da Vinci“ protagonist Robert Langdon, has more than 8 million copies in print. (7)As millions now know, The Da Vinci Code begins with the murder of Jacques Sauniere, curator of the Louvre Museum in Pari
24、s. As he is dying, he realizes he is the only person left to pass on an important secret. Later that night, a visitor from the French equivalent of the FBI awakens Langdon, a Harvard University professor visiting Paris, summoning him to the Louvre. Langdon, who studies symbols, had an appointment wi
25、th Sauniere, but the curator never showed up. (8)Sauniere is found naked, arms and legs outstretched. Drawn on his chest in his own blood is a five-pointed star. Langdon figures out that Sauniere is positioned like The Vitruvian Man, Leonardo da Vincis most famous sketch. He also recalls that the cu
26、rator was a scholar of all things Leonardo, and that Leonardo himself liked to hide messages in his art. (9)More clues are uncovered as Langdon is led to the Mona Lisa, the Madonna of the Rocks and The Last Supper. He recalls that Leonardo was part of a brotherhood that guarded an ancient secret dea
27、ling with the quest for the Holy Grail and the story of Jesus Christ. Later, Langdon discovers that Sauniere was Leonardos modern-day counterpart. (10)The unprecedented success of The Da Vinci Code has been helped by wide access, with the book on sale everywhere from Wal-Mart to airports to supermar
28、kets, often proving more popular than the mass market paperbacks available at the same outlets. (11)The Da Vinci Code has also thrived during a time when both literary and commercial novels struggled, when a tight economy, competition from other media and election-year tensions drove the public to n
29、onfiction works or away from books altogether. Publishers and booksellers say Browns novel has worked by combining narrative excitement and provocative and disputed historical detail. 4 When The Da Vinci Code was first published, Doubleday_. （ A） hoped that it would become a historic publication （ B
30、） only expected to sell no more than 85,000 copies （ C） had great confidence in the book and its author （ D） announced a conservative printing of the book 5 Doubleday only sells the hardcover The Da Vinci Code because _. （ A） the consumers are supposed to control their budgets （ B） the price of the
31、paperbacks is too low for great profits （ C） the book is so popular that readers dont mind the price （ D） the film version is expected to be more popular than the book 6 According to the last paragraph, during the time of tight economy, _. （ A） people were easily distracted by other media （ B） The D
32、a Vinci Code was an exceptional success （ C） literary novels had to fight against commercial ones for market （ D） the public had no other choice of entertainment but nonfiction works 6 (1)Denzel Washington and Halle Berry made history Sunday with Academy Award wins, and for many, it was a sweet vict
33、ory, long past due. Nonetheless, minority groups say diversity must extend beyond Hollywoods glamour night and include other groups such as Asians, Hispanics and American Indians. (2)“If this is a sign that Hollywood is finally ready to give opportunity and judge performance based on skill and not o
34、n skin color, then it is a good thing,“ said Kweisi Mfume, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. “However, if this proves to be a momentary flash in a long history of neglect, then Hollywood has failed to learn the real meaning of equality.“ (3)In 1939, when Ha
35、ttie McDaniel became the first African-American actor to win an Oscar for Gone with the Wind, it was a bittersweet victory. McDaniels role was blasted by progressive African-American groups, and she was limited for much of the rest of her career in similar, stereotyped roles. (4)Now Washington has w
36、on for his part as Alonzo Harris in the violent police thriller Training Day, playing a talented but corrupt narcotics detective who bullies his narcotics squad trainee while ruling the roost in a Los Angeles battle zone. Berry beat the field for her steamy part in Monsters Ball as Leticia Musgrove,
37、 a Southern mother doubly bereaved by the execution of her husband and the car-accident death of her son. (5)Both movies are frank, verbally profane and violent. They show things unshowable in the time of Gone with the Wind or even 20 or 30 years later. (6)But mostly, they showed that African-Americ
38、ans could be portrayed onscreen as complex human beings part good, part bad rather than the bigot-fodder of decades ago: the cardboard villains, comical personas or long-suffering saints and mammies of Hollywoods Golden Age. That battle, at least onscreen, was settled long ago. But this years double
39、 Oscar seals the contract. (7)Nonetheless, some organizations say minorities will have power in front of the camera only when there is more minority representation behind the scenes as directors, writers and producers. (8)“Whats historic about equality? Historic for me will be when all people of col
40、or are represented and are capable of garnering these awards,“ said Sonny Skyhawk, president of the advocacy group American Indians in Film. (9)Skyhawk, an actor whos appeared in Young Guns II and Geronimo: An American Legend, joined other show-business minority leaders yesterday in praising the Aca
41、demy Awards while pointing out that the Oscars and entertainment industry were overdue for broader racial representation. (10)“This is the new dynamic,“ said Felix Sanchez, president of the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts. “I think we are going to see more and more success stories for mino
42、rities. . I hope this means(studios)are going to tap more writers with diverse stories and cast more actors that represent the true face of American diversity.“ (11)Washington, who received a supporting award for 1989s Glory, Sunday became the first black man to be named best leading actor since Sid
43、ney Poitier for Lilies of the Field. Now that a trail has been blazed for blacks, he suggested, other minority actors must continue to fight for more significant roles. (12)“I dont recall seeing any Asian-Americans, women or men, being recognized and not too many Latin Americans,“ Washington said on
44、 NBCs Today show. “So there is still a lot of work(to be done).“ (13)Other black actors predicted Berrys and Washingtons wins could signal that studios are more comfortable giving prestige roles to minorities. (14)“Its one step at a time,“ said former L.A. Law co-star Blair Underwood. “Theres no way
45、 that you can go back from the progress made tonight. That window has been opened.“ 7 Kweisi Mfume was _ about the effect of the “sweet victory“. （ A） rational （ B） arbitrary （ C） ambiguous （ D） convinced 8 What happened to Hattie McDaniel after her performance in Gone with the Wind? （ A） She was al
46、ienated by the African Americans. （ B） She had to play similar roles in other films. （ C） She began to give up her progressive view. （ D） She wanted to change her stereotyped image. 9 In the passage, a “bigot-fodder“ most probably refers to a person who is_. （ A） unique （ B） complicated （ C） unimpor
47、tant （ D） simple 10 According to the author, the double Oscar this year_. （ A） triggers the battle on racism in film industry （ B） helps settle the issue of racism in film industry （ C） verifies me equality between races in film industry （ D） discloses the inequality between races in film industry 二
48、、 SECTION B In this section there are five short answer questions based on the passages in Section A. Answer the questions with No more than TEN words in the space provided. 10 PASSAGE ONE 11 Why hasnt the fur-seal population increased? 12 Why do environmental groups like the World Wildlife Fund urg
49、e stronger action? 12 PASSAGE TWO 13 When did Angels and Demons begin to sell well? 14 What helps Langdon find out the clues to the important secret? 15 PASSAGE THREE 15 Who should be better recognized in the film industry, according to the passage? 专业英语四级（阅读）模拟试卷 142答案与解析 一、 SECTION A In this section there are several passages followed by ten multiple-choice questions. For each question, there are four suggested answers marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that you think is the best answer. 【知识
