1、专业英语四级（阅读）模拟试卷 76及答案与解析 0 Edna OBrien has lived in London for a few decades, but 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
2、reveres, and points out that exiles “tend not to go back“. “The place I grew up 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, Count
3、ry Girl, in which she meets an Irishwoman in the street who tells her about her 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
4、of the latter half of her exile some 25 years OBrien has lived in a “book-laden“ 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
5、are the favorite of fashionable elegant ladies. Most of the houses have steps leading 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
6、 the table in the first-floor sitting room, and a copy of Finnegans Wake occupies 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, s
7、he had just returned from a series of literary festivals in Ireland, where she 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
8、fictionalized those episodes in her first novels. She has continued to explore 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
9、 memoir, but its not the same aspects of her. “ Besides, she does not apologize 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 poo
10、r, happy or sad, but a writers early life is embedded in them. “ 1 According to 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 memoi
11、r is not accepted by the masses 2 What does the word “boutiques“ in Paragraph 2 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 OBrie
12、n? （ A） She speaks with an Ireland accent. （ B） She has lived in London for 25 years. （ C） She lives not far away from Harrods. （ D） Even aged, she remains beautiful. 4 All of the following are mentioned in Country Girl EXCEPT_. （ A） OBriens childhood in hometown （ B） OBriens early education （ C） OB
13、riens first novel （ D） OBriens marriage life 5 According to Edna OBrien, what is the difference of the same character in different fictions? （ A） Different life stages. （ B） Different perspectives. （ C） Different characteristics. （ D） Different background settings. 5 All over the world, your chances
14、 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 their poorer peers. They know twice as many words and score 40 points higher on IQ tests. By age 10, the gap is three years.
15、 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 systems seem to have figured out how to erase these gaps. Finland ensures that every child completes basic education and mee
16、ts 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. “ In the United States, KIPP charter schools enroll students from the poorest families and ensure that almost every one of
17、 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 stories offer lessons for the rest of us. First, get children into school early. High-quality pre-schooling does more fo
18、r 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. Some were given the opportunity to attend a high-quality pre-school; others were not. Thirty-five years later, the kids w
19、ho 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 hours up until the age of 18 outside of school dont ignore that time. KIPP students spend 60 percent more time in school th
20、an 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 school day to add the equivalent of more than two more years of schooling. Third, pour lots of effort to train teachers. Studi
21、es 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 about recruiting; they invest in training and continuing education; they evaluate teachers regularly, and they award bonuse
22、s 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 Roughly one in three Finnish students also gets extra help from a tutor each year. If we can learn the lesson of what works, w
23、e can build on it. 6 Compared with their peers, kids with professional parents learn much more because they_. （ A） have good memory for vocabulary （ B） have better family financial conditions （ C） achieve higher grades on IQ tests （ D） use basic reading and math skills flexibly 7 What can we infer f
24、rom the Finnish district officials reply in Paragraph 2? （ A） She expressed a desire to show off her good memory. （ B） She is willing to offer 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. 8 T
25、he most important educational factor for a child to achieve success in school and life is to_. （ A） receive a good and early pre-schooling （ 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 9 Which of the
26、 following is INCORRECT about Singapores educational system? （ A） They spend money in training teachers. （ B） They give periodic assessment to teachers. （ C） They are strict in recruiting teachers. （ D） They give rewards to all the teachers. 10 What does the passage mainly discuss? （ A） The importan
27、ce of family economic conditions to kids success in study and life. （ B） The achievement gap between 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 di
28、fferent family backgrounds. 10 In Japan, where career opportunities for women are few, where divorce 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
29、 root among Japanese women. But with scant open conflict, the push for separate burials is quietly 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 hu
30、sbands. The funerary revolt comes as women here annoy at Japans slow pace in providing greater equality 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 achievin
31、g financial independence, or even obtaining a credit card in ones own name, are insurmountable hurdles 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
32、graveyards, where plots are still passed down through the husbands family and descendants must provide 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
33、 University. She said that graveyards that did not require descendants, in order to accommodate 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 t
34、ime to change the law to be able to use their maiden names after marriage. Although credit goes 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
35、 of nearly 600 women some divorced, some unhappily married, and some determinedly single who plan to share a common plot curbed out of an ordinary cemetery in the western suburb of Chofu. 11 From the fact that divorce can mean a life of hardship for Japanese women, we can infer that_. （ A） many Japa
36、nese women have a bad relationship with their husbands （ B） many Japanese women live together with 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 12 According to the passage, which of the following
37、statements about the funeral revolt in Japan is INCORRECT? （ A） It comes as the result of Japanese womens dissatisfaction with Japans slow pace in providing greater sex equality. （ B） More and more Japanese women choose the form of divorce to win the victory of funeral revolt. （ C） Japans complex bu
38、rial customs make it more difficult for Japanese women to be buried separately. （ D） More and more Japanese women prefer to be buried separately from their husbands. 13 The meaning of the word “igniting“ in the last paragraph is_. （ A） causing to die （ B） arousing the passion of （ C） making angry （
39、D） making gloom 14 According to the passage, the sex inequalities that Japanese women endure include all of the following EXCEPT that_. （ A） they are forbidden to divorce （ B） they are restricted from being buried separately from their husbands （ C） the law makes it almost impossible for a woman to
40、use her maiden name after marriage （ D） they hesitate to take part in womens liberation movements 15 In this passage, the author is mainly concerned with_. （ A） Japanese womens endeavors to win sex equality （ B） social and governmental obligation in eliminating sex inequality （ C） how Japanese laws
41、prevent Japanese women from being buried alone （ D） how to change Japans complex burial customs 15 Theres something about the Internet that can bring out meanness in teenagers. That is one finding of a study to be released Wednesday, reporting that nine in ten teenagers say they have witnessed cruel
42、ty 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 and cut across all ages and backgrounds on social networks, according to the study by the Pew Research Centers Internet & American Life P
43、roject, 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 they have developed positive feelings about themselves and forged better friendships on social networking sites, according to Pew. Still, t
44、he prevalence of “mean“ behavior a term the center doesnt define raised concerns among child-safety advocates and parents who say adolescents may be subjecting themselves to unhealthy online environments. “For teens, these are exciting and rewarding spaces. But the majority have seen a darker side,“
45、 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 long as youngsters have stolen milk money and scribbled insults on bathroom walls, experts say. And online bullying is not as common as w
46、hat 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 commentary about peers, experts say. That escalates when people gang up on an individual. Of the teens who said they witnessed cruelty on
47、line, 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 most negative response of any group of youth, according to the report. Lenhart and other experts on social media said teenagers see thems
48、elves 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 risks 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 po
49、st 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 use 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 Simmons, an author and spe
