1、专业英语四级（阅读）模拟试卷 179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 (1) The international space station is getting a new,
2、 inflatable room that resembles a giant spare tire, NASA announced on Wednesday. Slated to launch in mid-2015, the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, or BEAM, will fly to space deflated before being puffed into a 13-by-10-foot cylinder. Rather than providing new living space for astronauts, the mod
3、ule will test whether inflatable habitats have a future as orbiting laboratories, lunar outposts or living quarters for deep-space missions. And its arriving at a bargain price for space hardware. NASA is paying Bigelow Aerospace of Nevada $ 17.8 million for the module. (2) “This is a great way for
4、NASA to utilize private-sector investment, and for pennies on the dollar to expand our understanding of this technology,“ said Lori Garver, the agencys deputy administrator. Station astronauts will periodically enter the BEAM to check whether its thick yet flexible walls, which include layers of Kev
5、lar (凯芙拉合成纤维 ), adequately block the twin hazards of space travel: radiation and micrometeoroids (微流星体 ) traveling faster than bullets. “The plan is to have the hatch closed most of the time, with the crew going in and out a few times a year to collect data,“ Garver said. The module will stay attach
6、ed to the station for two years. “We have ambitions to go to the moon someday, have a base there,“ said Robert Bigelow, the real estate and hotel magnate who founded Bigelow Aerospace. Inflatables offer two advantages over traditional aluminum-can-like modules. They weigh less per cubic foot of livi
7、ng space, making them cheaper to launch, and they can balloon to diameters far too wide to fit in current rockets. (3) Bigelow licensed the concept from NASA in 1999 after the agency abandoned plans to use inflatable living quarters for a mission to Mars. NASA is Bigelows first customer. On Wednesda
8、y, Bigelow said he and his wife have invested $ 250 million into developing inflatable space habitats. They hope to attract wealthy tourists, pharmaceutical companies and governments that want affordable space programs to an orbital outpost that Bigelow says will be ready to fly in 2016. (4) Called
9、Alpha, the private space station will offer living space for 12, twice the occupancy of the international space station. Renting one-sixth of Alpha for two months will cost $25 million, Bigelow said, transportation not included. Its unclear if a market exists for a private space station, said Scott
10、Pace, director of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University. Still, Bigelow has already tasted success. In 2006 and 2007, the company launched two small inflatable satellites atop Russian ballistic missiles. Both operated as planned. (5) Wednesdays announcement marks a deepening of
11、NASAs partnerships with commercial companies. The agency is also funding three companies developing craft to transport astronauts to and from orbit vehicles also needed to bring customers to Bigelows outposts. One of those companies, Space Exploration Technologies, or Space X, will fly the BEAM modu
12、le to the space station in the “trunk“ of one of its uncrewed Dragon capsules. “It sounds like a good deal for both NASA and Bigelow,“ said Pace. “Nothing can replace flight-test experience. “ (6) The project may also stymie criticism that the 16-nation international space station, which took 13 yea
13、rs to construct, has been underutilized by NASA, said former station commander Michael Lopez-Alegria, president of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. “Its a real step in the right direction. “ 1 According to the passage, BEAM is used_. （ A） as a new living space for astronauts （ B） as an orbitin
14、g laboratory （ C） as an outpost on the moon （ D） to test inflatable habitats 2 All of the following statements are the advantages of inflatables EXCEPT that_. （ A） they are much lighter than traditional modules （ B） they are less expensive to launch （ C） they can expand to larger room （ D） they can
15、fit in current rockets 3 What does the passage mainly talk about? （ A） NASA is cooperating with private companies. （ B） The international space station is getting a new inflatable module. （ C） NASA is launching a private space station. （ D） Bigelow is investing on inflatable space habitats. 3 (1) Th
16、e year 2010 began with a herd of manufacturers chasing Amazons Kindle. It ends with some of the same companies in pursuit of Apples iPad. In between those tablet-computing crazes, weve all been challenged to keep up with the expanding universes of social networking and smartphones. (2) Nothing illus
17、trates what makes the tech business both fascinating and frustrating as well as the rise of Facebook. The social-networking site crossed the 500 million-user mark and debuted numerous features, such as an upgraded e-mail service and options to share your location with friends and get discounts from
18、nearby retailers. But it also spent much of the year infuriating (触怒 ) users with privacy changes that exposed more of their data and were confusing or impossible to undo. The simpler privacy interface it launched in May should help, but it wont if this company again forgets that its users dont all
19、operate at start-up speeds. (3) Other social networks had a smoother road. Twitter offered its growing user base a more reliable service and a busier but more useful interface, while Foursquare had users checking into such far-off locations as the international space station. (4) You cant write the
20、story of any of these sites without noting how smartphones have allowed their users to connect from so many places. Apples iPhone 4 led that pack in 2010, but Googles Android operating system improved at a faster pace and didnt require its users to sign up with only one carrier, even if some of the
21、carriers selling Android phones showed a serious lack of taste in their tweaks (轻微调整 ) to Googles software. (5)I probably devoted more column inches to smartphones than to any other sort of hardware, and with good reason: This is the most exciting, fastest-moving part of the electronics industry. Ta
22、blet computers arent far behind, though. Apples launch of the iPad in January redefined this market in a way that finally made the concept relevant to home users. Competitors took the hint and have begun rolling out devices that will never qualify as “iPad killers“ but do earn the title of “iPad com
23、petitor. “ (6) The success of the iPad and other tablets pushed down the price of the Kindle and other e-book readers. But Amazons e-reader may need to drop below $ 100 and get a major screen upgrade to hold its place in the market. Both smartphones and tablets have further eroded the significance o
24、f traditional desktop and laptop computers. Sure, people still buy the things in massive numbers. But when you can get so much work and play done on a smartphone or tablet or, for that matter, any other device with a browser that can run Web-based applications like Google Docs why bother stressing o
25、ut over your choice of one brand of computer? (7) This trend has hurt Microsoft, the company that once benefited more than any other from the traditional computing market. Its biggest software shipment of the year, its Office 2010 productivity suite for its Windows operating system, was a yawner (无趣
26、的东西 ) of a release. 4 According to the passage, Facebook_. （ A） caused the fever of tablet-computing （ B） faces great threats from smartphones （ C） enables you to find something on sale （ D） does nothing to protect users privacy 5 The phrase “rolling out“ in Para. 5 probably means_. （ A） revealing （
27、 B） producing （ C） quitting （ D） marketing 6 This passage is mainly talking about_. （ A） the fast expanding of social networking sites （ B） the popularity of smartphones and social networks （ C） the development and advantages of tablet computers （ D） the fierce competition in the operating system in
28、dustry 6 (1) When a doctor determines your risk for heart disease, he or she might look at your weight and blood pressure. But soon, they may also look at your neck. Independent of other factors, the width of your neck may play a role in determining your heart disease risk, according to researchers
29、with the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institutes Framingham Heart Study, who presented their data Wednesday at a meeting of the American Heart Association in Orlando, Fla. (2) “Its very interesting that neck circumference was associated with (higher measures of) heart disease risk,“ said Dr. Vijay
30、 Nambi, a cardiologist at the Baylor College of Medicine, who was not involved with the research. He noted that if the results of the preliminary research hold up after further study, it could provide a novel approach in determining a patients risk. “We normally end up struggling with trying to find
31、 out what are the best measures of obesity and fat,“ said Nambi. (3) Since this is the first presentation of the data, Sarah Rosner Preis, a postdoctoral fellow in NHLBI and the studys lead author, noted that the findings are preliminary. Her findings were that a wider neck was associated with riski
32、er levels of other measurements for heart disease such as higher systolic blood pressure and lower “ good“ HDL cholesterol but not heart disease itself. Still, the connection could be an important one if the finding is borne out in future research. And if true, heart disease would join a list of oth
33、er diseases linked to a thicker neck. “ To our knowledge, there has been no study that has specifically examined the association between neck circumference and risk of heart disease,“ she said. “Prior studies have suggested that neck circumference may be associated with diabetes, insulin resistance
34、and hypertension. “ (4) But even if a thicker neck turns out to be a sign of an at-risk heart, Nambi said, that might not mean that measuring your neck alone will ever be a conclusive test that lets a doctor determine heart disease risk. He noted that even now, there is some correlation between wais
35、t-to-hip ratio and obesity and heart disease, but cholesterol level and blood pressure remain the measurements of choice in determining heart risk. The reason is that there are numeric goals for cholesterol and blood pressure, but there is not as simple a numeric target for weight loss. Similarly, h
36、e noted, more research would be needed to determine how the circumference of the neck affects heart disease risk in order for the measurement to become useful in the clinic. (5) Ultimately, said Nambi, research is needed to determine whether the neck fat causes heart disease or if it is just a sign
37、of risks caused by something else. And ultimately, obsessing about your collar size may not be the key to a healthy heart. “ When you lose weight from one source, youre going to lose fat all over your body,“ he said. “Having a healthy lifestyle, several studies have shown thats the best you can do t
38、o improve your (heart health) profile. “ 7 According to Nambi, which of the following is CORRECT? （ A） A new way of determining heart disease has been proved. （ B） Its clear what is the most efficient way to check overweight. （ C） Just by measuring ones neck, a doctor can confirm heart disease. （ D）
39、 A healthy lifestyle will make a difference on your heart. 8 Which of the following can best serve as the title of the passage? （ A） A Possible Approach to Checking Heart Disease. （ B） The Risk of Heart Disease. （ C） The Relation Between Weight and Blood Pressure. （ D） How to Improve Your Heart Heal
40、th? 8 (1) It is rare for a tale of academic mismanagement in a small institution to grab national attention. But Sciences-Po is no ordinary university. The four most recent French Presidents, including Francois Hollande, studied there. In the heart of the Parisian left bank, it attracts top-rated st
41、udents and staff. And it has been without a head since its former director, Richard Descoings, died suddenly in April in a New York hotel room. (2) Now a report on Sciences-Po by the national auditor that talks of “management failure“ and “numerous violations“ has sparked furious debate. Critics hav
42、e seized on managerial extravagance. Aggrieved students, whose tuition fees have risen sharply, have denounced excessive pay. Others have called for board resignations. And the higher-education minister, Genevieve Fioraso, has rejected Sciences-Pos choice of successorHerve Cres, its deputy director
43、and imposed a caretaker. (3) Sciences-Po is an odd creature. The state finances half its budget, but the school is run by a private foundation and is thus unconstrained by rules about selection, fees and salary caps that bind other public universities. Between 2005 and 2010, the schools budget jumpe
44、d by over 60% , the state subsidy rose by a third and Sciences-Po more than doubled its student intake, to 3,500. But, says the auditor, it added too many administrative staff, paid them and faculty members too much (Descoings earned 537,247 or $711,585 in 2010) and also took on “risky debt“. The mi
45、smanagement, admits one professor, was “scandalous“. (4) Sciences-Po says it will clean things up and improve transparency. But the debate has broadened: should it return to its old role as a public-service feeder for the Ecole Nationale DAdministration (ENA), the top civil-service graduate school?
46、Or should Sciences-Po continue with Descoingss project to turn it into an American-style university that competes globally for students and researchers? (5) For all his faults, Descoings boldly took on the French establishment. He built exchanges with American universities and lured foreign students
47、 to Paris. He recruited students from heavily immigrant suburbs. And he got the school to set up new research centers, such as an economics department. He did all this with a flexibility over recruitment that the French university establishment disliked. “ It is very difficult to attract the best an
48、d maintain a center of excellence without this autonomy,“ says another faculty member, fretful that it could now be compromised. (6) The trouble is that in the conservative mind, the scandal of Sciences-Pos mismanagement has undermined its credibility. The old elite may now have a stronger hand agai
49、nst the international-minded inheritors of Descoings. Ms. Fioraso wants a new director to be chosen by January. The caretaker who must find one happens to be a former ENA classmate of Mr. Hollandes. 9 What is implied but NOT stated in the first paragraph is that_. （ A） Sciences-Pos academic mismanagement has drawn national attention （ B） President Francois Hollande was a student of Sciences-Po （ C） Sciences-Po attracts excellent students and employees （ D） Richard Descoings was the previous head of Scie
