1、专业英语四级（阅读）模拟试卷 157及答案与解析 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 Edna OBrien has lived in London for a few decades, bu
2、t she speaks, as she writes, in a voice inflected with the rhythms and accents of the west of Ireland, where she grew up. She calls herself “an exile(放逐者 )“, like her great literary forebears, Joyce and Beckett, whom she reveres, and points out that exiles “tend not to go back“. “The place I grew up
3、 in is my imagery, my geography of mind and pen, “ she says. “But to live there again.“ Uncharacteristically(非同寻常地 ), she leaves the thought uncompleted, preferring to direct me to the final scene of her new memoir, Country Girl, in which she meets an Irishwoman in the street who tells her about her
4、 aunt in Dublin before adding, “But we live here now.“ OBrien agrees: “ We do, I said, and it was as if the two countries warred and jostled and made friends, inside me, like the two halves of my warring self. “ For most of the latter half of her exile some 25 years OBrien has lived in a “book-laden
5、“ house in the cosmopolitan district of Knightsbridge, a five-minute walk from Harrods, Londons most famous department store. Expensive sportscars and SUVs line the pavements, and the shops are exclusive boutiques, which are the favorite of fashionable elegant ladies. Most of the houses have steps l
6、eading up to glossy front doors, but OBriens is reached by a dark alley that runs to a side entrance. Among the moneyed anonymity of the neighborhood, it feels set apart. There is a leather-bound edition of Shakespeare on the table in the first-floor sitting room, and a copy of Finnegans Wake occupi
7、es a prominent position on the shelf. Despite the spring sunshine, there is a fire in the grate. Edna OBrien has always been renowned as a great beauty, and at the age of 82, she remains good-looking. On the day we met, she had just returned from a series of literary festivals in Ireland, where she
8、was well received which has not always been the case. Country Girl not only revisits her childhood in County Clare, her convent(女修道院 )education, and unhappy first marriage, but the scandal that ensued in Ireland when she fictionalized those episodes in her first novels. She has continued to explore
9、her childhood memories in her fiction, but she says the memoir offers a different perspective: “Some of the material overlaps, but its differently rendered. The mother that exists in my fiction is the same mother as in my memoir, but its not the same aspects of her. “ Besides, she does not apologize
10、 for returning again and again to her early years: “Childhood imagery, experiences, griefs, and joys if they are there are formative for a writer. Some people remember their childhoods in a generalized way, as rich or poor, happy or sad, but a writers early life is embedded in them. “ 1 According to
11、 the passage, Edna OBrien calls herself “an exile“ because_. （ A） she grew up in Ireland but lived in London now （ B） she adored exiles as Joyce and Beckett （ C） her hometown broke out a war and she escaped （ D） her memoir is not accepted by the masses 2 What does the word “boutiques“ in Paragraph 2
12、 mean? （ A） Shops that deal with book exchange. （ B） Shops that sell local souvenirs. （ C） Shops that sell delicious snacks. （ D） Shops that sell fashionable clothes. 3 Which of the following is INCORRECT about Edna OBrien? （ A） She speaks with an Ireland accent. （ B） She has lived in London for 25
13、years. （ C） She lives not far away from Harrods. （ D） Even aged, she remains beautiful. 3 All over the world, your chances of success in school and life depend more on your family circumstances than on any other factor. By age three, kids with professional parents are already a full year ahead of th
14、eir poorer peers. They know twice as many words and score 40 points higher on IQ tests. By age 10, the gap is three years. By then, some poor children have not mastered basic reading and math skills, and many never will; this is the age at which failure starts to become irreversible. A few school sy
15、stems seem to have figured out how to erase these gaps. Finland ensures that every child completes basic education and meets a rigorous standard. One Finnish district official, asked about the number of children who dont complete school in her city, replied, “I can tell you their names if you want.“
16、 In the United States, KIPP charter schools enroll students from the poorest families and ensure that almost every one of them graduates high school 80 percent make it to college. Singapore narrowed its achievement gap among ethnic minorities from 17 percent to 5 percent over 20 years. These success
17、 stories offer lessons for the rest of us. First, get children into school early. High-quality pre-schooling does more for a childs chances in school and life than any other educational intervention. One study, which began in the 1960s, tracked two groups of students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
18、Some were given the opportunity to attend a high-quality pre-school; others were not. Thirty-five years later, the kids who went to pre-school earned more, had better jobs, and were less likely to have been in prison or divorced. Second, recognize that the average kid spends about half his waking ho
19、urs up until the age of 18 outside of school dont ignore that time. KIPP students spend 60 percent more time in school than the average American students. They arrive earlier, leave later, attend more regularly, and even go to school every other Saturday. Similarly, in 1996, Chile extended its schoo
20、l day to add the equivalent of more than two more years of schooling. Third, pour lots of effort to train teachers. Studies in the United States have shown that kids with the most effective teachers learn three times as much as those with the least effective. Systems such as Singapores are choosy ab
21、out recruiting; they invest in training and continuing education; they evaluate teachers regularly, and they award bonuses only to the top performers. Finally, recognize the value of individualized attention. In Finland, kids who start to struggle receive one-on-one support from their teachers. Roug
22、hly one in three Finnish students also gets extra help from a tutor each year. If we can learn the lesson of what works, we can build on it. 4 What can we infer from the Finnish district officials reply in Paragraph 2? （ A） She expressed a desire to show off her good memory. （ B） She is willing to o
23、ffer the information at any time. （ C） Her job requires her to remember all the students names. （ D） The basic education is paid much attention to in Finland. 5 The most important educational factor for a child to achieve success in school and life is to_. （ A） receive a good and early pre-schooling
24、 （ B） prolong his or her learning time in school （ C） get instruction from more excellent teachers （ D） get person-to-person help from the teachers 6 What does the passage mainly discuss? （ A） The importance of family economic conditions to kids success in study and life. （ B） The achievement gap be
25、tween children from wealthy families and poorer ones. （ C） Some countries having achieved success in erasing the gap between children completely. （ D） How to narrow the achievement gap between kids from different family backgrounds. 6 In Japan, where career opportunities for women are few, where div
26、orce can mean a life of hardship, and where most female names are still formed using a word for child, a womans independence has always come at a steep price. Notions of womens liberation have never taken root among Japanese women. But with scant open conflict, the push for separate burials is quiet
27、ly becoming one of the countrys fastest growing social trends. In a recent survey by the TBS television network, 20 percent of the women who responded said they hoped to be buried separately from their husbands. The funerary revolt comes as women here annoy at Japans slow pace in providing greater e
28、quality between the sexes. The law, for example, still makes it almost impossible for a woman to use her maiden name after marriage. Divorce rates are low by western standards, meanwhile, because achieving financial independence, or even obtaining a credit card in ones own name, are insurmountable h
29、urdles for many divorced women. Until recently, society enforced restrictions on women even in death. Under Japans complex burial customs, divorced or unmarried women were traditionally unwelcome in most graveyards, where plots are still passed down through the husbands family and descendants must p
30、rovide maintenance for burial sites or lose them. “The woman who wanted to be buried alone couldnt find a graveyard until about 10 years ago, “ said Haruyo Inoue, a sociologist of death and burial at Japan University. She said that graveyards that did not require descendants, in order to accommodate
31、 women, began appearing around 1990. Today, she said, that there are close to 400 of these cemeteries in Japan. That is just one sign of stirring among Japanese women, who are also pressing for the first time to change the law to be able to use their maiden names after marriage. Although credit goes
32、 beyond any individual, many women cite Junko Mastubara, a popular writer on womens issues, with igniting the trend to separate sex burials. Starting three years ago, Ms. Mastubara has built an association of nearly 600 women some divorced, some unhappily married, and some determinedly single who pl
33、an to share a common plot curbed out of an ordinary cemetery in the western suburb of Chofu. 7 From the fact that divorce can mean a life of hardship for Japanese women, we can infer that_. （ A） many Japanese women have a bad relationship with their husbands （ B） many Japanese women live together wi
34、th their husbands in perfect harmony （ C） many Japanese women have a low social status （ D） its an out-dated custom for Japanese women to be housewives 8 According to the passage, the sex inequalities that Japanese women endure include all of the following EXCEPT that_. （ A） they are forbidden to di
35、vorce （ B） they are restricted from being buried separately from their husbands （ C） the law makes it almost impossible for a woman to use her maiden name after marriage （ D） they hesitate to take part in womens liberation movements 8 Theres something about the Internet that can bring out meanness i
36、n teenagers. That is one finding of a study to be released Wednesday, reporting that nine in ten teenagers say they have witnessed cruelty by their peers on social networks. For the vast majority of teens, Facebook is the social network of choice. Incidents of mean and cruel behavior are pervasive a
37、nd cut across all ages and backgrounds on social networks, according to the study by the Pew Research Centers Internet & American Life Project, which surveyed 800 children between the ages of 12 and 17. The data on Internet experiences for young people is not all bad. Eight in ten teenagers said the
38、y have developed positive feelings about themselves and forged better friendships on social networking sites, according to Pew. Still, the prevalence of “mean“ behavior a term the center doesnt define raised concerns among child-safety advocates and parents who say adolescents may be subjecting them
39、selves to unhealthy online environments. “For teens, these are exciting and rewarding spaces. But the majority have seen a darker side, “ said Amanda Lenhart, a co-author of Pews report, “Teens, Kindness and Cruelty on Social Network Sites. “ Of course, bad behavior among children has been around as
40、 long as youngsters have stolen milk money and scribbled insults on bathroom walls, experts say. And online bullying is not as common as what takes place on the schoolyard or in the hallway, Pew said. But there is something about the ease of communication on the Internet that invites an abundance of
41、 commentary about peers, experts say. That escalates when people gang up on an individual. Of the teens who said they witnessed cruelty online, 21 percent said they joined in the harassment. Three out of 10 girls ages 12 to 13 said they have experienced mostly unkind treatment on social networks the
42、 most negative response of any group of youth, according to the report. Lenhart and other experts on social media said teenagers see themselves differently online than in the real world. Some assume a sort of “alter ego“ on the Web, engaging in conversation with more bravado(冒险 )and taking more risk
43、s than they do when face to face with a peer, she said. Peers can be particularly cruel on sites such as FormSpring that allow users to post comments anonymously, or on the comment boards of sites such as YouTube, according to experts. Facebook with 800 million global users requires its members to u
44、se their real identities, which it thinks is one way to prevent anonymous bullying. It also allows users to block photos of and comments about themselves that they dont like. But that hasnt stopped all bullying. And some experts worry that younger adolescents are particularly vulnerable. Rachel Simm
45、ons, an author and speaker on children and social media, said bullying occurs most in middle school, yet parents are often helping their children get online when they are younger than 13, the minimum age required for Facebook. “The younger the kid, the meaner the peer group becomes, so this is an al
46、ert to parents that not every kid is ready for the independence of having their own social networking page, “ Simmons said. 9 From the study by the Pew Research Centers Internet & American Life Project, we know that_. （ A） something about the Internet lets teenagers suppress their anger （ B） social
47、networks are no longer popular among teenagers （ C） cruelty and meanness prevail among teenagers on social networking sites （ D） few of the teenagers surveyed report positive feelings toward the Internet 10 In the passage, the author intends to_. （ A） talk about the positive effects of social networ
48、k on teenagers （ B） discuss social networks and peoples daily life （ C） probe into the meanness in teenagers of social networking sites （ D） remind teenagers of the damaging results of online bullying SECTION B In this section there are five short answer questions based on the passages in Section A.
49、 Answer the questions with No more than TEN words in the space provided. 11 PASSAGE ONE 11 According to Edna OBrien, what is the difference of the same character in different fictions? 12 PASSAGE TWO 12 Compared with their peers, why do kids with professional parents learn much more? 12 PASSAGE THREE 13 What does the word “igniting“ in the last paragraph mean? 14 In this passage, what is the author mainly concerned with? 15 PASSAGE FOUR 15 As a result of online experience, what are teenagers
