1、专业英语四级（阅读）模拟试卷 56及答案与解析 0 Climbing to the top of my nearest hill in San Francisco, my purpose is not to enjoy the view but to experience a bit of fresh air and nature. Some birds dwell in these urban islands of trees, bushes and soil. So few people are there, but they are happy, relaxed and friendly
2、(unless insane and out to rob). I find the view of San Francisco Bay and the metropolis most disturbing, seeing in all directions the industrial activity and oil-fueled trade of questionable imported products. Massive port facilities dwarf the human scale of sustainable import/export. A very small n
3、umber of sailboats for pleasure cant quite offer a vision of renewable-energy travel and exchange. Passenger planes take off, military jets show off their ear-splitting capabilities, all against the backdrop of polluted air that is warming in general thanks to commercial activity and the mindless co
4、nsumption by the individual. The hills are full of roads and energy-wasting houses. Its not like this everywhere; the hills around Kyoto are pitch black at night, for they consist of forest, trails and small, outdoor temples. Seven million people surround me in this metropolitan area. Those among th
5、em who really care whether Barry Bonds used steroids to hit baseballs, or what pregnant celebrity has checked into a drug rehabilitation facility, are not likely to be trying to live lightly on the planet. Normal citizens under the spell of mass media want to consume, and be given answers and easy f
6、ixes. They may get what they want tonight, and again, and again, but it will come to an abrupt end, and will people pick up a shovel to plant food or pick up the gun to take others food? That depends on the area affected, the culture(urban U.S. or otherwise), and population size. Why should I be dis
7、turbed by what I see now, when all is basically calm? Or feel uneasy as I stroll about in the safety of my comfortable home? Is not San Francisco and the surrounding area a great city, with many wonderful people and activities to appreciate? What about the noble struggles of valiant, compromised har
8、d-working people, or the dysfunctional and disabled folk who are really kind? The social injustice that is still pervasive, in our boastful age of scientific and technological power, is outrageous and occupies many of the best hearts and minds in the world who live in our very midst. Much of what ai
9、ls people, it is thought, is that they do not have enough cheap, affordable energy or material things that are supposed to both satisfy and uplift. More public funds for health care, through an end to costly, imperialist wars, would be the ticket to a healthy society, in the eyes of more and more. E
10、xcept, that selfless aspiration is becoming clouded with the uncertainty and fright growing around our awakening to climate change. In the buzzing Bay Area and every other large and small city, we are behaving as if there is no threat to the climate and thus our future survival as a species. Just lo
11、oking around at the unceasing traffic, it is clear that basic, radical but easy solutions are being kept on the shelf or buried. Tiny changes, usually just initiatives that dont threaten the current life style(e.g., different engines), are called “green“. Green this and green that. But the big “gree
12、ning“ will be the rediscovery of community and working with others as if our survival depends on our collaboration as equals. Our bosses and political leaders have been as useful in the needed transition asto borrow an expression from my late father tits on a bull. 1 What do the “few people“ do on t
13、op of the hill? （ A） They are the rich residents of the city. （ B） They are there to enjoy the natural beauty. （ C） They are attracted by the view of San Francisco Bay. （ D） They attack the tourists and rob them. 2 In the aspect of sustainable energy, the author favors _ most. （ A） oil-fueled trade
14、（ B） massive port facilities （ C） sailboats （ D） passenger planes 3 What does the author feel about the hills around Kyoto? （ A） They are worth appreciating. （ B） They are not well-lit at night. （ C） They provide us with the best living environment. （ D） They have scenes different from all the other
15、 hills. 4 According to the author, the people who care whether Barry Bonds used steroids to hit baseballs are likely to （ A） look at others with a critical eye. （ B） live a comparatively lavish life. （ C） value environmental protection. （ D） disregard their health conditions. 5 According to the thir
16、d paragraph, the author was most disturbed by （ A） the struggles of the hard-working people. （ B） the public funds for health care. （ C） the lack of affordable energy or materials. （ D） the outrageous social injustice. 5 Growing up as an Asian in Britain is much more than a question of facing discri
17、mination and trying to find a decent job especially for a girl. She has to keep a delicate balance between two cultures: her own(Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, etc.)and the British. Seetha Crishna has written a booklet called Girls of Asian Origin in Britain. In it the girls she is most concerned w
18、ith are those who are definitely different because they have gone through the British educational system and have therefore emerged with an identity which is distinct from that of their parents. “They speak English with regional English accents, they look comfortable in Western clothes, and they do
19、not necessarily choose to work in a factory.“ But they are unmistakably Asian and they are still held by their Asian cultural roots. At home, an Asian girl may find herself conforming to the traditions and values of her parents, while at school she develops the attitudes and appetites of her British
20、 contemporaries. As a result, Seetha Crishna found girls existing at two levels and inclined to question both. “But unless they can successfully accept both, they will swing constantly from one level to the other, feeling trapped between the two at considerable cost to their own confidence and happi
21、ness.“ For teenage girls, the main difficulty is to match the social life which their parents expect them to live with that enjoyed by their schoolmates. “If an Asian girls is invited out to a party or to a film by someone her mother has not met, that person must come and meet her mother before perm
22、ission is given or refused. If a group of girls plan to go to the cinema, parents want them to be accompanied by brothers or male cousins, or even by an older relative or a trusted adult friend of the family.“ Friends are girl friends. “Friends of the opposite sex simply do not exist, except for a b
23、rothers male friends, who fall into the category of brothers.“ In South Asia, all this is taken for granted and all girls are subject to the same rule. But in Britain an Asian girl can immediately see the difference between her own life and that of her English schoolmates, and this makes it seem unj
24、ust and unfair. Some parents are aware that this puts a strain on their daughters and are therefore prepared to turn a blind eye if the code is sometimes broken. But above all they are anxious to “protect“ the girls. 6 Seetha Crishna is most concerned about girls of （ A） East Asian origin. （ B） Sout
25、h Asian origin. （ C） British origin. （ D） non-British origin. 7 What is NOT true about the Asian British parents? （ A） They speak English with their homeland accent. （ B） They make their living in Britain by working in a factory. （ C） They have never had any education in Britain. （ D） They preserve
26、their native traditions and values at home. 8 Seetha Crishna found that the girls are easily trapped between （ A） their Asian homes and British schools. （ B） the parents cultures and traditions. （ C） the Asian and the British values. （ D） their confidence and happiness. 9 The Asian British teenage g
27、irls have the greatest problem with （ A） the expectation of their parents. （ B） the British education system. （ C） their interaction with friends. （ D） their after-school activities. 10 The parents primary concern is （ A） whether their daughters have girl friends only. （ B） whether their daughters a
28、re treated fairly in Britain. （ C） to maintain the code of behavior in their daughters. （ D） to ensure their daughters against any dangers. 10 More and more young athletes are taking part in risky, adventurous activities called “extreme sports“, or “X-sports“. Its philosophy is to get as close to th
29、e edge as possible. In the past, young athletes would play hockey or baseball. Today, they want risk and excitement the closer to the edge the better. They snowboard over cliffs and mountain-bike down steep mountains. They windsurf near hurricanes, go white-water rafting through rapids, and bungee-j
30、ump from towers. Extreme sports started as an alternative to more expensive sports. A city kid who didnt have the money to buy expensive sports equipment could get a skateboard and have fun. But now it has become a whole new area of sports, with specialized equipment and high levels of skill. Theres
31、 even a special Olympics for extreme sports, called the Winter X-Games, which includes snow mountain biking and ice climbing. An Extreme Games competition is held each summer in Rhode Island. It features sports such as sky surfing, where people jump from airplanes with surfboards attached to their f
32、eet. What makes extreme sports so popular? “People love the excitement,“ says Murray Nussbaum, who sells sports equipment. “City people want to be outdoors on the weekend and do something challenging. The new equipment is so much better that people can take more risks without getting hurt.“ An athle
33、te adds, “Sure theres a risk, but thats part of the appeal. Once you go mountain biking or snowboarding, its impossible to go back to bike riding or skiing. Its just too boring.“ Now even the older crowd is starting to join in. Every weekend a group of friends in their early 30s get together. During
34、 the week they work as computer programmers in the same office. On Sundays they rent mountain bikes that cost $2,000 each and ride down steep mountains together. Extreme sports are certainly not for everyone. Most people still prefer to play baseball or basketball or watch sports on TV. But extreme
35、sports are definitely gaining in popularity. 11 “X-sports“ usually refer to （ A） non-traditional activities. （ B） dangerous but challenging activities. （ C） sports played by young people. （ D） sports played in rivers or mountains. 12 The first extreme sports were created （ A） by a city kid. （ B） as
36、expensive sports. （ C） without specialized equipment. （ D） for people who enjoyed taking risks. 13 What do we know about Murray Nussbaums attitude towards extreme sports? （ A） He finds them challenging. （ B） He is excited about them. （ C） He finds them risky. （ D） He is being neutral. 14 The author
37、writes the fifth paragraph to support his idea that extreme games are （ A） popular. （ B） exciting. （ C） expensive. （ D） risky. 15 Which of the following is NOT true about extreme sports according to the passage? （ A） Extreme sports are not as popular as baseball or basketball. （ B） Extreme sports ar
38、e principally popular among young people. （ C） Extreme sports will have a more and more prosperous market. （ D） Extreme sports require more skills than most of the other sports. 15 People have wondered for a long time how their personalities and behaviors are formed. Its not easy to explain why one
39、person is intelligent and another is not, or why one is cooperative and another is competitive. Social scientists are, of course, extremely interested in these types of question. They want to explain why we possess certain characteristics and exhibit certain behaviors. There are no clear answers yet
40、, but two distinct schools of thought on the matter have developed. As one might expect, the two approaches are very different from each other, and there is a great deal of debate between proponents of each theory. The controversy is often conveniently referred to as “nature/nurture“. Those who supp
41、ort the “nature“ side of the conflict believe that our personalities and behavior patterns are largely determined by biological and genetic factors. That our environment has little, if anything, to do with our abilities, characteristics and behavior is central to this theory. Taken to an extreme, th
42、is theory maintains that our behavior is predetermined to such a great degree that we are almost completely governed by our instincts. Proponents of the “nurture“ theory, or, as they are often called, behaviorists, claim that our environment is more important than our biologically based instincts in
43、 determining how we will act. Behaviorists see humans as beings whose behavior is almost completely shaped by their surroundings. Their view of the human being is quite mechanistic; they maintain that, like machines, humans respond to environmental stimuli as the basis of their behavior. The social
44、and political implications of these two theories are profound. In the United States, for example, blacks often score below whites on standardized intelligent test. This leads some “nature“ proponents to conclude that blacks are genetically inferior to whites. Behaviorists, in contrast, say that the
45、differences in scores are due to the fact that blacks are often deprived of many of the educational and other environmental advantages that whites enjoy, and that, as a result, they do not develop the same responses that whites do. Neither of these theories can yet fully explain human behavior. In f
46、act, it is quite likely that the key to our behavior lies somewhere between these two extremes. That the controversy will continue for a long time is certain. 16 The author is mainly concerned about solving the problem （ A） why our personalities and behaviors differ. （ B） what makes different stages
47、 of intelligence. （ C） how social scientists form different theories. （ D） what causes the “nature/nurture“ controversy. 17 The word “proponents“ can best be replaced by （ A） approaches. （ B） advocates. （ C） principles. （ D） characters. 18 Which of the following statements may be supported by the “n
48、ature“ school? （ A） We are born with certain personalities and behaviors. （ B） Environment has nothing to do with our personalities. （ C） Abilities and characteristics are revealed by behaviors. （ D） Only extreme behaviors are determined by instincts. 19 What can we learn about the behaviorists? （ A
49、） They believe human beings are mechanical. （ B） They compare our behaviors to the machines. （ C） They suggest that we react to the environment as the machines do. （ D） They uphold that the mechanistic theory can be applied on us as well. 20 The “nature“ theorists believe that the blacks low scores （ A） are the result of the educational disadvantages. （ B） are a manifestation of the blacks poor intelligence. （ C） have nothing to do with their true intelligence. （ D） have nothing to do with factors other than heredity. 专业英语四级（阅读）模拟试卷 56答案与解析 【知识模块】 阅读 1 【正确答
