1、专业英语四级（阅读）模拟试卷 14及答案与解析 0 Most people know two things about Corsica; Napoleon was born here and it was the haunt of bandits. The first is correct; the second is in the wrong tense. The bandits are still here, taking potshots at anything that smacks of French domination and flexing their muscles in t
2、he struggle for independence. But dont let that stop you visiting this magical place; perhaps the best-kept secret in the western Mediterranean. The bandits are not out to get you their main purpose in life seems to be the destruction of French road signs, although from time to time theyll blow up a
3、 public building. Drive along the mountain roads and riotously beautiful coastal cornichc highways and youll see signs in two languages French and Corsu, the indigenous language derived from Tuscan Italian. Invariably the French signs are defaced. There is nothing new about this Corsicans have been
4、fighting since at least Roman times and it is thought the word and concept “vendetta“ originated here. And this is precisely why the island is that European rarity a tourist paradise without tourist overload. We sailed into Ajaccio pronounced Ayaehoo on a stylish overnight Moby ferry from Marseilles
5、. We could also have flown or sailed across from an Italian harbour, but Marseilles is the port of choice for most visitors. As soon as the ferry docked we could smell good food and within two minutes of landing, I was walking through the citys waterfront marketplace eating sweet onion pasties. The
6、little town(pop. 68, 000)rises from the harbour into the maquis-covered hills. Its blank-faced houses betray the long influence of Genoa and the narrow, winding streets reveal the historic need to take cover and man the barricades. Up above the town are some of the wildest mountains in Europe, acces
7、sed by skinny roads and forest tracks. A highway of sorts runs around the coast, but the interior is almost uninhabited. Many people come here to test their stamina and courage against a harsh landscape; many more come to laze around in idyllic coastal towns and villages. Cap Corse, a crooked cape p
8、ointing towards the French-Italian rivieras, is the prime destination for travellers who take time to study where theyre going. Bastia is the main town and Plage de Saleccia the regions showpiece beach. At the other end of the island is the magical little town of Bonifacio, with streets so white and
9、 water so blue and your eyes start to hurt. Perched on a crumbling cliff above a harbour where tycoons yachts are moored, the town looks across the narrow straits to northern Sardinia. 1 Corsica is an island of_. （ A） Italy （ B） France （ C） Genoa （ D） Greek 2 Which of the following statements is INC
10、ORRECT according to the first three paragraphs? （ A） Corsu is a language derived from Tuscan Italian. （ B） Corsica is not a much toured place. （ C） Corsicans are under the rule of France. （ D） The bandits in Corsica are cruel killers and robbers. 3 The building style of the houses here has been unde
11、r the influence of_. （ A） Italy （ B） France （ C） Genoa （ D） Roman 4 What does the phrase “of sorts“ mean in Paragraph 6? （ A） Rather, to some extent. （ B） To a certain extent. （ C） Feeling unwell. （ D） Not fully deserving. 5 Which of the following towns is called “the magical little“ one by the auth
12、or? （ A） Bastia. （ B） Ajaccio. （ C） Sardinia. （ D） Bonifacio. 5 The chocolate bar manufacturer at the centre of an extortion threat says theres no confirmed link between its products and illnesses reported by people who ate them. MasterFoods regional President Andy Weston-Webb said about 30 people c
13、alled the companys helpline on Wednesday with various health complaints after eating Snickers and Mars Bars. But “there has been no proper connection reported or established, “ he told the ABC. “ Weve had a variety of symptoms reported headaches, several people with flu-like symptoms, nausea, diarrh
14、ea. Were obviously taking each and every case very seriously. Weve spoken to each person and fortunately the people who have reported in are all feeling much better now. “ About one million Snickers and Mars Bars will be destroyed on Friday due to the extortion bid. The company recalled the chocolat
15、e bars from sale in NSW last Friday after it received three letters claiming seven bars had been contaminated in the Sydney area. A fourth letter was received on Wednesday at MasterFoods head office in Ballarat, Victoria. “We passed it immediately to police and the extortion threat remains against a
16、 third party organisation in Sydney, “ Mr. Weston-Webb said. “The new letter did not require us to change our current or future course of action. We continue to remove Mars and Sni-ckers bars from the shelves and we will also commence destruction of the bars tomorrow. Wed like to bring some closure
17、to this episode. MasterFoods received the latest letter on the same day tests confirmed a Snickers bar sent to the companys head office last month was contaminated with a pesticide-like substance. A scientific report on the chocolate bar was inconclusive in defining the contaminant but revealed the
18、substance was similar to a number of commercially available pest poisons and could be harmful to children, NSW police said. Mr. Weston-Webb said the priority was to destroy the “hundreds and thousands, possibly over a million bars“ so there was absolutely no risk of contamination. “We have a(destruc
19、tion)plan with the food authorities, we plan to start that tomorrow. It will be done in a safe and supervised way, “ he said. Mr. Weston-Webb said the plan would be carried out by deep burial at a landfill site at Lucas Heights, in Sydneys south. “Weve discussed this destruction process with the env
20、ironmental protection authority and other experts in the field and we have been advised that deep burial is the preferred option, on the basis of security, responsible environmental management and efficiency, “ he said. Snickers and Mars Bars would not be returned to shops until MasterFoods was comp
21、letely sure it was safe to do so, Mr. Weston-Webb said. Mr. Weston-Webb has not yet seen financial figures to show how badly the recall has affected the company. Members of the public were continuing to report stores still selling the bars, he said. “Well continue to be vigilant. We want to make sur
22、e nobody is selling products until we feel it is completely safe, “ Mr. Weston-Webb said. 6 All of the following are the health complaints caused by the poisonous bars EXCEPT_. （ A） flu-like symptoms （ B） nausea （ C） diarrhea （ D） heart disease 7 Tests confirmed some bars were contaminated with_. （
23、A） a pesticide-like substance （ B） a herbicide-like substance （ C） a weedicide-like substance （ D） a bactericide-like substance 8 We can infer from the passage that_. （ A） many people have eaten the poisonous bars （ B） not many bars are contaminated （ C） the MasterFoods is determined to recall all t
24、heir products back （ D） they havent decided how to dispose the bars being recalled 9 How does the MarsterFoods dispose all the bars being recalled? （ A） To burn them. （ B） To recycle them. （ C） To bury them deeply. （ D） To throw them into the sea. 10 Who is the backstage manipulator of the incident?
25、 （ A） The third party organization. （ B） A terrorist organization. （ C） It is not mentioned. （ D） The person who wrote the letters. 10 After reading an article in the Herald about memory loss and dementia, I can assure readers that todays generation has been inflicted with a syndrome that makes cert
26、ain we will be able to remember every waking(and otherwise)moment of our lives. Like many Australians , Ive been canonised: I have taken incessant photography as my new religion. Ive looked through my grandmothers photo albums, and they contain about as many photos for a lifetime as you could hold o
27、n a 32-megabyte memory stick. Life-changing experiences such as climbing Uluru, riding a gondola in Venice or walking on the Great Wall of China are interrupted by scores of people huddling around a small LCD screen to check their progress mid-conquest. “ Hey, honey, look at me hanging off this clif
28、f. Do I really look like that in a helmet?“ Have you noticed that everybody looks perfect during their camping trips these days? Its because airbrushing is now available to the man on the street. Teeth not as white as they used to be? No need to pay the dentist, Photoshop will ensure that only your
29、best self is displayed to the world. After the mass adoption of the digital camera came personalised photo websites. There is a shrine to the narcissistic where pages of every movement are captured and displayed for all of us to trawl through. Previously, people might have gathered infrequently for
30、a photo; now I cant go anywhere without being hounded by my friends. Every 10 minutes a new pose must be struck at least three times because we dont have to wait until the pictures are developed before realising Mums got her eyes closed. Hair not perfect? Dont worry, well take it again. These days,
31、any given event will result in at least 100 photos being taken, which if compiled into an album and the pages flipped rapidlycould be sold to Disney as an animation strip. With most new digital cameras as small as mobile phones, it wasnt long before the two merged. I fear, however, that the two comb
32、ined have exacerbated the problem. Not only do we have to contend with mates sending pictures of themselves at football games, concerts or holidays while were at our desk, looking after the kids, taking out the garbage but we hear about it simultaneously. The digital revolution has made photography
33、infinitely easier. When we get home from a live-day trip of standing either behind the lens or in front of it, we can email pictures to everyone in our address book, then spend hours printing the photos, only to discover that the ink cartridge has run out of magenta. When booking holidays, tell your
34、 boss youll need an extra days leave at the end for “holiday downloading and recapture“. I dont pity the older generation losing their memory, remembering everything is not all its cracked up to be. “ 11 Where is the author from? （ A） US. （ B） Korea. （ C） France. （ D） Australia. 12 Whats the authors
35、 attitude towards the digital revolution? （ A） Happy, concerned and a little regretful. （ B） Worried and proud. （ C） Indifferent and unconcerned. （ D） Sarcastic and ridiculous. 13 Which of the following is INCORRECT according to the passage? （ A） Everybody looks perfect in the pictures being develop
36、ed by the Photoshop. （ B） Todays generation has suffered a new syndrome which is as bad as dementia. （ C） The digital revolution has made photography infinitely easier. （ D） Remembering everything is not all its cracked up to be. 14 It can be inferred from the passage that_. （ A） nothing can help yo
37、u to stay voung forever （ B） recording every moment of life is only a dream （ C） remembering everything may not be as happy as you think （ D） losing memory is a better choice for people living in the modern society 15 Whats the style of the passage? （ A） Sarcastic and humorous. （ B） Literary and ima
38、ginative. （ C） Factual and referential. （ D） Poetic and beautiful. 15 Every February, across the country, candy, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious saint and why do we celebrate this holiday? The history of Valentines Day
39、 and its patron saint is shrouded in mystery. But we do know that February has long been a month of romance. St. Valentines Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. So, who was Saint Valentine and how did he become associated with this ancient rite?
40、Today, the Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred. One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than thos
41、e with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young, single men his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentines actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be
42、put to death. Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were often beaten and tortured. According to a legend, Valentine actually sent the first “valentine greeting“ himself. While in prison, it is believed that
43、Valentine fell in love with a young girl who may have been his jailors daughter who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed “From Your Valentine“ , an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentin
44、e legends is murky, the stories certainly emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and most importantly, romantic figure. Its no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France. The oldest known valentine still in existence today was a poem
45、written by Charles, Duke of Orleans to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. The greeting, which was written in 1415 , can be viewed today at the British Museum in London, England. Several years later, it is believed that King Henry
46、 V hired a writer named John Lydgate to compose a valentine note to Catherine of Valois. In Great Britain, Valentines Day began to be popularly celebrated around the seventeenth century. By the middle of the eighteenth century, it was common for friends and lovers in all social classes to exchange s
47、mall tokens of affection or handwritten notes. By the end of the century, printed cards began to replace written letters due to improvements in printing technology. Ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their emotions in a time when direct expression of ones feelings was discourage
48、d. Americans probably began exchanging hand-made valentines in the early 1700s. In the 1840s, Esther A. Rowland began to sell the first mass-produced valentines in America. 16 Which month has long been regarded as a month of romance? （ A） May. （ B） September. （ C） June. （ D） February. 17 Why was Val
49、entine put to death in Rome? （ A） He married secretly. （ B） He fell in love with the jailors daughter. （ C） He performed marriages for young people secretly. （ D） He refused to join the army. 18 Which of the following statements is INCORRECT according to the passage? （ A） In Great Britain, Valentines Day began to be popularly celebrated around the seventeenth century. （ B） Americans probably began exchanging hand-made valentines in the early 1800s. （ C） The oldest known valentine still in ex
