1、专业英语四级（阅读）模拟试卷 55及答案与解析 0 Early humans were very interested in birds and attributed magic and religious powers to them. The connection between birds and death that humans have imagined since prehistoric times still persists strongly in some modern folklore. There are also early hints of humans formi
2、ng an association between birds and human reproduction. Somewhat later birds were regarded as weather changers and forecasters. Birds symbolized the mysterious powers that pervaded the wilderness in which humans hungered, hunted, and dreamed. Thus it is not surprising that many mythological creature
3、s, such as thunderbird, phoenix, and roc, take the form of birds. In the legends of native North Americans, the thunderbird is a powerful spirit in the form of a bird. Through the work of this bird, it is said, the Earth is watered and vegetation grows. Lightning is believed to flash from its beak,
4、and the beating of its wings is thought to result in the rolling of thunder. It is often portrayed with an extra head on its abdomen. The majestic thunderbird is often accompanied by lesser bird spirits, frequently in the form of eagles or falcons. Evidence of similar figures has been found througho
5、ut Africa, Asia, and Europe. In ancient Egypt and in classical antiquity, the phoenix was a fabulous bird associated with the worship of the sun. The phoenix was said to be as large as an eagle, with brilliant scarlet and gold plumage and a melodious cry. Only one phoenix existed at any one time, an
6、d it was very long-lived; an ancient writer gave it a life span of less than 500 years. As its death approached, the phoenix fashioned a nest of aromatic boughs and spices, set it on fire, and was consumed in the flames. From the burning firewood miraculously sprang a new phoenix, which, after prese
7、rving its predecessors ashes in an egg of myrrh, flew with the ashes to the City of the Sun, in Egypt, where it deposited them in the altar in the temple of the Egyptian god of the sun. The phoenix was understandably thus associated with immortality and the allegory of resurrection and life after de
8、ath. The phoenix was compared to undying Rome, and it appears on the coinage of the late Roman Empire as a symbol of the Eternal City. In Arabic legends, the roc, or rukh, was a gigantic bird with two horns on its head and fur humps on its back and was said to be able to carry off elephants and othe
9、r large beasts for food. 1 Prehistoric people related birds to their （ A） longevity. （ B） daily life. （ C） working conditions. （ D） living environment. 2 Thunderbirds are among the mythological birds that are believed to master （ A） all the other animals. （ B） the climatic changes. （ C） humans life
10、and death. （ D） the quality of our living. 3 What makes the phoenix associated with immortality and resurrection? （ A） That a phoenix is born in its predecessors ashes. （ B） That a phoenix flies with its predecessors ashes to Egypt. （ C） That a phoenix knows when it dies and how to come back to life
11、. （ D） That a phoenix buries its predecessors ashes in the temple of the sun god. 4 In the ancient inscriptions of the Roman Empire, the form of a phoenix refers to （ A） the Empire itself. （ B） the city of Rome. （ C） the power of the Roman Emperor. （ D） the afterlife of the Roman Emperor. 5 The Arab
12、ic legends tend to describe the roc as （ A） formidable. （ B） ill-looking. （ C） legendary. （ D） admirable. 5 Self-Portrait with Straw Hat(1887), a Van Gogh self-portrait done in Paris, is one of his most intriguing yet most neglected works. The artists gloomy eyes stare out from his face in half-prof
13、ile, facing to the left, and the world-weary expression initially appears to support the view of critics such as James Risser, who explains Van Goghs self-portraits as a sustained search for identity. Self-Portrait with Straw Hat(1887)initially appears to comply with Rissers evaluation. In this work
14、, the painter depicted himself wearing a jumper of intense blue before a background done almost entirely in gray but with noticeable blurs of blue most notably in the top right corner. Overall the painting appears to be unfinished, a hastily done portrait that the painter abandoned to create more la
15、sting works. In its incomplete state we can precisely read “an unfinished life,“ and in the wild strokes of casual blue in the background and splashed across the artists garments we are instantly confronted with the sense of growing “more and more out of control.“ But is this an accurate evaluation?
16、 On the one hand, Risser seems to have legitimate cause for envisioning Van Goghs self-portrait as psychological self-analysis, a painting that “reveals an emotional intensity hiding beneath the surface“. But is the chaotic surface effect of the blue in this painting actually a form of self-criticis
17、m, the artists own intense and emotional despair over his loss of control or is it representative of an underlying aesthetic whose focus is not the painter himself? An intriguing alternative exists: Van Gogh may not have painted the self-portraits as psychoanalytical evaluations of himself, but inst
18、ead merely as experiments in technique. The artist often stated that he painted himself only because he lacked other models, a view found in the critical work of both Richard Kendall and T.J. Shackelford. Perhaps, then, Van Gogh was not trying to learn about himself but about art as a whole while pa
19、inting these portraits and hence we ought to read the self-portraits as a series of statements about art itself. The key to this analysis may be a careful exploration of the special color symbolism Van Gogh attached to the color blue. Unlike our everyday association of blue with melancholy or boredo
20、m, the artist imagined blue as a symbol for the infinite or the limitless. Such a view calls into question the idea that self-portraits such as Van Goghs Self-Portrait with Straw Hat(1887)were a psychological profile of the artists melancholy or despair. Instead, when we consider blues special symbo
21、lic role as the infinite in Van Goghs Paris self-portraits, we discover a new narrative describing the painters own aesthetic: his insistence that the future of art lay in expressive rather than realistic methods. 6 What does James Risser think of Van Goghs self-portraits? （ A） Different self-portra
22、its represent Van Goghs different attitude towards life. （ B） Many of his self-portraits have been neglected by critics. （ C） Van Gogh sought for identity through all his self-portraits. （ D） Van Gogh expressed his weariness of the world in most of his self-portraits. 7 Which description is mentione
23、d in the second paragraph about Van Goghs Self-portrait with a Straw Hat? （ A） The painting is not well done. （ B） The painting mainly used gray. （ C） The painter used blue but erased it later. （ D） The portrait showed a depressed emotion. 8 Who felt that the self-portrait showed “an unfinished life
24、“? （ A） Van Gogh himself. （ B） Rissers opponents. （ C） The author. （ D） James Risser. 9 According to Richard Kendall and T.J. Shackelford, the Self-portrait with a Straw Hat may not have anything to do with （ A） Van Goghs painting technique. （ B） the symbolism of color. （ C） the psychological analys
25、is of the painter. （ D） the painters aesthetic. 10 According to Van Gogh himself, his self-portraits were intended to be （ A） narrative. （ B） expressive. （ C） analytic. （ D） artistic. 10 It took me a decade to realize that the world has no shortage of fashion designers who are capable of making tren
26、dy, elegant, sexy and sophisticated garments, but that it is badly in need of, simply, clothes designers. My own definitions would set fashion and clothing greatly apart. It is a fact that, in the world of metropolitan shopping malls and high-end boutiques, there are plenty of beautiful garments who
27、se very unpredictability make our life colorful, and compel a multitude of desires. You are almost convinced: you can buy whatever you dare to think. As experience grew with age, my attraction to art became ever stronger. The world of art revealed new spiritual prospects, a food for the heart and th
28、e sense of happiness that comes from catching sight of a friend from a past life. My journeys into the remote countryside, far away from urban life, carry me to deeper thoughts and explorations of the values of life. I am no longer satisfied by the practical and ornamental functions of clothing that
29、 are changing in modality, nor breakthroughs in form, much less does the drive for reputation or profit enter into my work. I yearn strongly for clothing to stand as does paint to the painter, as does stone to the sculptor, as a simple and particular language of an individual creation, which draws t
30、he audience from an appreciation of the surface to deeper thoughts and conversations with the world of the soul. I have a strong desire to explore the mental life and spiritual world of human beings. And through the works of hand that have touched me deeply, I believe that the most sublime and most
31、meaningful creative motives should arise through caring for other people, the ultimate care of humanity a concern for human feeling and spirituality. This includes love, but it is bigger than love, and it is unconditional. I believe the greatest works of art can touch the deepest and strongest parts
32、 of human feeling and the world of the spirit, and only these works can be the memories of history, preserving the most valuable feelings that have ever existed, and inspiring a greater awareness of ourselves. I am not satisfied if people only appreciate clothing if it makes them happy, or visually
33、appealing, or merely serves their needs. I believe clothing could be a specific creative language, and has infinite possibilities for communicating ideas and transmitting thoughts, for inspiring you and shaping your behavior. The spiritual qualities which I pursue stand in complete opposition to the
34、 trends of modern fashion. What I find profoundly engaging are the primitive eras of human history, when people held nature in the deepest reverence and made objects of the utmost simplicity. Those crafts fashioned out of necessity, and not by the hands of celebrated masters, possess a power that ca
35、n endure across the ages. These designs may still resonate through the millennia and arrest the values of contemporary fashion. This is what I have pursued, for clothing to return to its original simplicity. For our sensibilities which have been over-stimulated by fashion, we must regain a natural s
36、ense of clothing. Genuine fashion today should not follow the glamor of trends. It should instead uncover the extraordinary in the ordinary, for I believe that the ultimate luxury is not the price of the clothing, but its spirit. 11 According to the author, the fundamental factor a fashion designer
37、needs to consider is （ A） the unpredictability of the clothing. （ B） the desires of the consumers. （ C） the creation of the clothing itself. （ D） the shifting trend in fashion. 12 The authors desire for art was inspired by （ A） the life of one of his friends. （ B） his experience as a designer. （ C）
38、his journey in the countryside. （ D） the consumers changed need. 13 Which of the following is of least interest to the author in his designing work? （ A） The functions of clothing. （ B） The spirit implied in clothing. （ C） The appreciation of the consumers. （ D） The prospect of reputation and profit
39、. 14 By saying “This includes love“(Line 12, Para.2), the author regards love as （ A） that can be achieved through the works of hand. （ B） a form of concern for human feeling and spirituality. （ C） the most important component of the spiritual world. （ D） one of the most sublime and meaningful creat
40、ive motives. 15 The author indicated that the primitive crafts were made as a result of （ A） respect for nature. （ B） simplicity. （ C） necessity. （ D） spiritual pursuit. 15 Hazel asks how one can stay healthy working the hours Ive been working. Heres one thing that helps: dont do it forever! My work
41、 is always more than forty hours a week, but these periods of never stopping and sleep deprivation dont go on for very long at a time. The last five weeks or so have been particularly busy, and the last two before a major vote especially so. Most organizers, under the pressure, resort to bad coping
42、mechanisms like overeating, smoking, or drinking too much. Its so easy to think that a quick fix like that will make you feel better, when in the long run it makes you feel worse. I found that keeping low calorie really helped me maintain my mental focus in the last days. Theres something about eati
43、ng just on the lighter side of what I really need that makes me calmer and sharper. Planning is really the key. We made the appetizing muffins over the July 4th weekend, and they were really a health-saver in these last two weeks. Being able to pull a 275 calorie package of perfectly zoned yum-mines
44、s out of the freezer, engineered to have 27% of the RDA(Recommended daily allowance)of everything, made grabbing healthy food in a hurry easy. I had appetizing muffins for breakfasts on most days with such toppings as hot sauce, mustard, and fat free cream cheese. I really enjoy this little bread, s
45、o I felt like I was feasting instead of feeling deprived. Since my husband packs my lunch time salad, filled with an amazing array of greens that pack a nutritional punch along with pumpkin seeds for zinc and fat and eggwhites for protein, I had lunches taken care of. And I was lucky enough to be wo
46、rking in a place that has a convenient subway, so subway salads and low carb wraps were always available. Subway can really be a blessing to the health conscious on the run. The good news is: WE WON! And we won big. 272 votes for us, 128 for the other union, and only 19 for no union at all. It was a
47、 fight up until the end, including threats of violence from the other union. Dont worry, Mommies and Daddies out there. I was very careful never to be alone anywhere, I am being extra cautious. Our leaders inside the hospital were under a ton of pressure as they got attacked by both management and t
48、he other union, but so many of their co-workers were supportive that they held up beautifully. Now they finally have a chance to negotiate a contract that gets them the kind of salaries, benefits and working conditions they deserve. Its about time. Im off to a meeting to plan next steps. the fun nev
49、er ends! 16 In order to stay healthy while working busily, the author suggests that （ A） we should work no more than forty hours a week. （ B） we should try to get rid of the working pressure. （ C） we should try to avoid sleep deprivation and fast food. （ D） we should stop working and make up for sleep at times. 17 The author keeps low calorie by （ A） excluding greasy food from her diet. （ B） eating less than necessary. （ C） taking up a nutritious recipe. （ D） having no more than three meals a day. 18 What did the author eat for supper? （ A） Salad
