1、专业英语四级（阅读）模拟试卷 48及答案与解析 0 Sky-high gasoline prices arent just raising the cost of Eugene Marinos 120-mile(193-kilometer)round-trip to his job in the Washington area. Theyre reducing his wealth, too. House prices in his rural subdivision beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains in Charles Town, West Virginia,
2、 have plunged as commuting expenses have soared. A four-bedroom home down the street from his is listed for $239,000, after selling new for $360,000 five years ago. Homeowners in the exurbs arent the only ones whose assets have taken a hit because of the surge in energy costs. Companies such as Gene
3、ral Motors Corp. are writing off billions of dollars in plants and equipment that are no longer viable in an age of dearer oil. The destruction of wealth and capital will weigh on U.S. growth for years to come. “Our whole economy reflects the relative costs of energy: the cars we drive, the houses w
4、e occupy, the kinds of factories we have and the equipment in them,“ says Dana Johnson, chief economist at Comerica Bank in Dallas. “Im expecting relatively large changes in all of these things.“ The loss of wealth could be a double whammy for the U.S. economy. In the short run, it depresses demand
5、as homeowners save more and spend less, and companies fire workers. Longer run, it curbs productivity growth, as firms shift their focus from increasing worker efficiency to reducing energy costs. “At $4 per gallon gas, $125 per barrel oil and $10 per million Btu natural gas, a lot of activity becom
6、es uneconomical,“ says Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moodys E in West Chester, Pennsylvania. The lifestyle of the exurban commuter may be one casualty. Emerging suburbs and exurbs commuter towns that lie beyond cities and their traditional suburbs grew about 15 percent from 2000 to 2006, nearly thr
7、ee times as fast as the U.S. population, as Americans moved further out in search of more affordable houses or the bigger ones that are sometimes derided as McMansions. “It was drive until you qualify for a mortgage,“ says Robert Lang, director of the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech in Alexa
8、ndria, Virginia. “You cant do that anymore. Your cost of transportation will spike too much.“ 1 What change has been brought to Marinos life? （ A） He had to go to work by bus instead of by car. （ B） He had to move to a poorer neighborhood. （ C） His apartment can be sold at a higher price now. （ D） H
9、is assets have been reduced much in value. 2 Because the sharp increase in energy cost, General Motors Corp. has to （ A） sell some plants and equipment in the red. （ B） cancel some valuable plants and equipment. （ C） seek for more advanced plants and equipment. （ D） set aside higher budget for plant
10、s and equipment. 3 Compared with the present, the loss of wealth will bring about （ A） a shrinking market. （ B） shortage of labor force. （ C） weakening productivity. （ D） a lower working efficiency. 4 “Exurbs“ most probably refers to （ A） regions situated farther away from city than suburbs. （ B） ru
11、ral areas where residents have to commute to work. （ C） suburbs with high-end facilities. （ D） intelligent residential districts. 5 According to Robert Lang, driving is considered （ A） unaffordable by mortgagers. （ B） unpopular by mortgagers. （ C） wasteful by commuters. （ D） economical by commuters.
12、 5 People who work in the theatre are very superstitious, and there are a number of unusual superstitions connected with the theatre. Many actors carry a lucky charm a coin, perhaps a doll. This charm is usually one which brought the actor success early in his career, and he always puts it on his dr
13、essing-table among his make-up and “good-luck“ messages. Other actors choose articles of clothing for their mascot. Many dancers have a ballet shoe which belonged to another dancer whom they admire. The American actor Glenn Ford always wore as his mascot a blue and red neck tie bought with his very
14、first pay packet when he was employed as a juvenile lead. The singer Frankie Vaughan will never travel without his lucky silver-topped cane. The dressing-room has a set of superstitions all of its own. Many actors have a very precise way of setting out their make-up, and will not alter the position
15、of one single object. Shoes must never be placed on the dressing-table, as this will certainly bring bad luck to the player and the production. It is most unlucky for one actor to look over the shoulder of another who is looking into the mirror, as a double reflection is linked to the old fear of be
16、ing watched by the “evil eye“. You must never whistle in the dressing-room. If by mistake you do, the bad luck can be avoided if you immediately leave the room, turn around three times in an anticlockwise direction, swear vilely, and knock on the door. People in the room may then give you permission
17、 to re-enter. This superstition dates back to the seventeenth-century belief about evil witches, who could “whistle up“ an unfavourable wind, i.e. the failure of the play! There is a common belief among the actors that a bad dress rehearsal means a good first night. This comes from an ancient idea t
18、hat it is unwise to complete any progress as it might cause a reaction from the gods. For this same reason, the very last line of a play is never spoken during the rehearsal. Certain plays have always had bad luck, and it is quite true that misfortunes have often followed such productions. Shakespea
19、res Macbeth is always considered to be a dangerously unlucky play. In Shakespeares time, the witches song was seen as having the power of a real curse. Even today, many actors are reluctant to take part in the production of Macbeth as they, are afraid that it will bring danger and will not even call
20、 the play by its name. Usually actors call Macbeth “that Scottish play“. On stage the colour green is considered unlucky, and so are real flowers. Knitting is also unlucky, since it is supposed to “knot“ the production and cause problems. This list is endless, and of course nobody can ever prove or
21、disprove whether these superstitions have any justification. Actors are not scientists, however, but artists, and they do not require scientific proof for what they “feel“ to be true. Instead of wishing a fellow actor “good luck“ as he goes on stage, he is told “break a leg!“ it seems pointless to l
22、ook to facts or logic for explanations. So long as actors and the theatre live superstitions will live! 6 The silver-topped cane is most probably （ A） one of Frankie Vaughans clothing accessories. （ B） a mascot that brought Frankie Vaughan early success. （ C） given to Frankie Vaughan by some singer
23、he admired. （ D） Frankie Vaughans first award-winning record. 7 Many actors believe that _ will result in successful performances. （ A） wearing the same make-up for all time （ B） maintaining the position of their make-up all along （ C） make-up done by the same beauty expert （ D） sitting still for th
24、eir make-up 8 It is commonly believed that a perfect dress rehearsal is most likely to arouse _ in the gods. （ A） enthusiasm （ B） sentiment （ C） curiosity （ D） resentment 9 Shakespeares Macbeth has been considered unlucky because （ A） it has been cursed by witches. （ B） Macbeth was a witchs name. （
25、C） there are roles of witches in it. （ D） it is involved with a Scottish witch. 10 The author thinks that the theatre superstitions （ A） deserve further study. （ B） vary from actor to actor. （ C） are pointless but fun. （ D） are hard to justify. 10 Throughout the years, music has been a common thread
26、 that unites generations and had provided social commentary, individual expression, and a soundtrack for life. Music has evolved and changed as time has moved forward, and become, in some cases more of an art, and in other cases, less than one. Today music has nearly universal appeal though there ar
27、e more styles and types of music than ever before, mere are also wider gaps in ever between groups who listen to certain types of music. This said, however there are still millions of Americans who consider themselves to have “global musical tastes“ meaning that they listen“ to numerous genres of mu
28、sic on a regular basis instead of focusing their time and attention on only rap, country, or rock and roll. In Utah, as in most other parts of the country, mere are many people who listen to a broad range of music: from Oldies to Emo and from Blues to Hip Hop. These varying tastes in music are refle
29、cted by the concerts in Utah during any given year. Utahs concerts range from me biggest names in Hip Hop and Country music to Rock and Roll acts that you might have thought had been dissolved in the 80s. There seems to be just as much excitement for a Cyndi Lauper or Pretenders reunion tour as for
30、a tour from Snoop Dog or The Foo Fighters. The sheer dynamism of Utah concert goers in age and musical taste makes Utah a “must stop“ for most any musical act. Utahs conceit scene consists of many small venues such as bars and private clubs that host touring acts year round, as well as a few large v
31、enues, both indoor and outdoor that host only the larger acts and are only open during certain times of the year as dictated by sports team schedules and weather. The varying degrees of concert venues in Utah makes for an additional plus for great musical acts to stop in Utah. There are obviously so
32、me acts, while very well received in bars and small venues, that just would not be able to fill a 20,000 seat amphitheater. Thus, the various small venues are perfect for lesser known or up-and-coming rock and country acts that are not quite able to fill the bigger venues. All things considered, Uta
33、h has a lot going for it in terms of creating a solid environment for musical acts as well as fans of music from a myriad of genres. As the state continues to grow and become a more mainstream culture, concerts in Utah will continue to be growing attractions. 11 Compared with music in the past, musi
34、c at present becomes more （ A） sensuous. （ B） artistic. （ C） disputable. （ D） diverse. 12 The author tends to agree that the Americans （ A） are restrained to rap, country and rock and roll. （ B） are restrained to the same genre of music. （ C） have developed global musical tastes. （ D） have developed
35、 their local music. 13 What has most probably happened to Pretenders? （ A） It broke up once for some reason. （ B） It is the biggest name in Hip Hop. （ C） It has become famous since 80s. （ D） It is the most popular Rock band. 14 It can be inferred from the 6th paragraph that （ A） various musical acts
36、 are attracted to Utah. （ B） small venues in Utah are perfectly equipped. （ C） great musical acts have to give up Utah. （ D） large venues in Utah are difficult to fill up. 15 The best title for the passage may be “_“. （ A） Americans Global Musical Taste （ B） Diverse Tastes for Music in Utah （ C） Var
37、ious Concert Venues in Utah （ D） Mainstream Culture of America 15 If our solar system has a Hell, its Venus. The air is choked with foul and corrosive sulfur, heaved from ancient volcanoes and feeding acid clouds above. Although the second planet is a step farther from the sun than Mercury, a runawa
38、y greenhouse effect makes it hotter indeed. Its the hottest of the nine plants, a toasty 900 degrees Fahrenheit of baking rocky flats from equator to poles. All this under a crushing atmospheric pressure 90 times that of where youre sitting now. From the earthly perspective, a dead end. It must be l
39、ifeless. “Venus has nothing,“ is the blunt word from planetologist Kevin Zahnle of NASA Ames Research Center in Californias Silicon Valley. “Weve written it off.“ Yet a small group of advanced life-forms on Earth begs to differ, and theorizes that bizarre microbial ecosystems might have once populat
40、ed Venus and, in fact, may be there still. Members of this loose band of researchers suggest that their colleagues have water too much on the brain, and are, in a sense, H2O chauvinists. “Astrobiologists are neglecting Venus due more to narrow thinking than actual knowledge of the environment, or en
41、vironments, where life can thrive,“ says Dirk Schulze-Makuch, a geobiologist at the University of Texas at El Paso who recently co-authored a Venus-boosting paper in Astrobiology with colleague Louis Irwin. The bias against life on Venus is partly rooted in our own biology. Human experience instruct
42、s that liquid water, preferably lot of it, is essential for life. In search for extraterrestrial life, we obsess over small rivers in Mars surface apparently carved by ancient gushes of water, and delight in hints of permafrost just underneath its surface.(By comparison, Venus isnt even that interes
43、ting to look at: A boring cue ball for backyard astronomers, its clouds reflects 75% of visible light.)Attention and then funding follow the water: Three more landers will depart for Mars this spring, and serious plans for sample-return missions hover in the midterm future. “If you have limited reso
44、urces, you base exploration on what you know,“ says Arizona State University planetary geologist Ronal Greeley. Its like losing your keys on the way home at night: The first place you look is under the streetlights not because theyre more likely to be there, but because if they are, youll spot them.
45、 For astrobiologists, the streetlights are the spectral lines for water, and theyve spotted that potential on Mars, Jupiters moon Europa, even Neptunes moon Triton. Not on the baking rocky flats of Venus. 16 Venus is the hottest of all the nine planets in the solar system because （ A） it is not so c
46、lose to the Sun as Mercury. （ B） many volcanoes spread the whole planet. （ C） it is covered by a thick layer of cloud. （ D） greenhouse effect is uncontrollable on it. 17 Some planetologists believed there had never been lives on Venus because （ A） they couldnt find any trace of water on it. （ B） the
47、y found Venus is too hot for any lives. （ C） Venus is covered by dirty and poisonous cloud. （ D） the atmospheric pressure on Venus is too much. 18 It can be inferred from the passage that the small group of advanced life-forms on Earth believed that （ A） life could exist in hot environment. （ B） lif
48、e could exist without water. （ C） there are still lives on Venus. （ D） there used to be lives on Mars. 19 What do we learn from the passage about Venus and Mars? （ A） The atmospheric pressure of Venus is stronger than Mars. （ B） Venus attracts more attention and funding than Mars. （ C） Venus is clos
49、er to the Sun than Mars. （ D） Venus looks more beautiful than Mars. 20 The purpose of the co-authored paper by Dirk Schulze-Makuch and Louis Irwin was to （ A） introduce their findings about Venus. （ B） promote the exploration of Venus. （ C） convince others that there used to be lives on Venus. （ D） criticize other scientists that they are narrow-minded. 专业英语四级（阅读）模拟试卷 48答案与解析 【知识模块】 阅读 1 【正确答案】 D 【试题解析】 前两段以 Marino的经历为例说明第 3段首句提到的住在远郊的私房业主资产受损严重，因此 D正确。原文只是说通勤费增加，但没有提及 Marino因此而坐公交车上班，所以 A不正确；第 2段提到 Marino所住的街区的房价暴跌，但这不意味
