1、国家公共英语（四级）笔试模拟试卷 158及答案与解析 一、 Section II Use of English (15 minutes) Directions: Read the following text. Choose the best word for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on ANSWER SHEET 1. 0 It is an astonishing fact that there are laws of nature, rules that summarize conveniently -【 21】 qualitat
2、ively but quantitatively - how the world works. We might【 22】 a universe in which there are no such laws, in which the 108 elementary particles that【 23】 a universe like our own behave with utter and uncompromising abandon. To understand such a universe we would need a brain【 24】 as massive as the u
3、niverse. It seems【 25】 that such a universe could have life and intelligence, because being and brains【 26】 some degree of internal stability and order. But【 27】 in a much more random universe there were such beings with an intelligence much【 28】 than our own, there could not be much knowledge, pass
4、ion or joy. 【 29】 for us, we live in a universe that has at least important parts that are knowable. Our common-sense experience and our evolutionary history have【 30】 us to understand something of the workaday world. When we go into other realms, however, common sense and ordinary intuition【 31】 hi
5、ghly unreliable guides. It is stunning that as we go close to the speed of light our mass【 32】 indefinitely, we shrink toward zero thickness【 33】 the direction of motion, and time for us comes as near to stopping as we would like. Many people think that this is silly, and every week【 34】 I get a let
6、ter from someone who complains to me about it. But it is virtually certain consequence not just of experiment but also of Albert Einsteins【 35】 analysis of space and time called the Special Theory of Relativity. It does not matter that these effects seem unreasonable to us. We are not【 36】 the habit
7、 of traveling close to the speed of light. The testimony of our common sense is suspect at high velocities. The idea that the world places restrictions on【 37】 humans might do is frustrating. Why shouldnt we be able to have intermediate rotational positions? Why cant we【 38】faster than the speed of
8、light? But【 39】 we can tell, this is the way the universe is constructed. Such prohibitions not only【 40】 us toward a little humility; they also make the world more knowable. （ A） just （ B） very （ C） just not （ D） not just （ A） see （ B） think （ C） imagine （ D） believe （ A） make （ B） make of （ C） mak
9、e up （ D） make from （ A） at least （ B） at most （ C） at last （ D） at the cost （ A） likely （ B） unlikely （ C） really （ D） unreal （ A） want （ B） need （ C） require （ D） acquire （ A） unless （ B） until （ C） if （ D） even if （ A） more （ B） larger （ C） bigger （ D） greater （ A） Fortunately （ B） Unfortunately
10、（ C） Happily （ D） Unhappily （ A） provided （ B） prepared （ C） armed （ D） got ready （ A） turn to （ B） turn on （ C） turn out to be （ D） turn away from （ A） decrease （ B） increases （ C） reduce （ D） add （ A） in （ B） at （ C） with （ D） from （ A） or two （ B） and two （ C） even two （ D） of two （ A） clever （ B
11、） wise （ C） brilliant （ D） intelligent （ A） of （ B） in （ C） with （ D） at （ A） that （ B） which （ C） matter （ D） what （ A） go （ B） walk （ C） travel （ D） run （ A） if （ B） unless （ C） so far （ D） so far as （ A） press （ B） have （ C） make （ D） entail Part B Directions: Read the following four texts. Answe
12、r the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D . Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. 20 Last weekend Kyle MacDonald in Montreal threw a party to celebrate the fact that he got his new home in exchange for a red paper clip. Starting a year ago, MacDonald bartered the clip for increasingly
13、valuable stuff, including a camp stove and free rent in a Phoenix flat. Having announced his aim (the house) in advance, MacDonald likely got a boost from techies eager to see the Internet pass this daring test of its networking power. “My whole motto was Start small, think big, and have fun ,“ says
14、 MacDonald, 26, “I really kept my effort on the creative side rather than the business side. “ Yet as odd as the MacDonald exchange was, barter is now big business on the Net. This year more than 400, 000 companies worldwide will exchange some $10 billion worth of goods and services on a growing num
15、ber of barter sites. These websites allow companies to trade products for a virtual currency, which they can use to buy goods from other members. In Iceland, garment-maker Kapusalan sells a third of its output on the booming Vidskiptanetid exchange, earning virtual money that it uses to buy machiner
16、y and pay part of employee salaries. The Troc-Services exchange in France offers more than 4,600 services, from math lessons to ironing. This is not a primitive barter system. By creating currencies, the Internet removes a major barrierwhat Bob Meyer, publisher of Barter News, calls “the double coin
17、cidence of wants. “ That is, two parties once not only had to find each other, but also an exchange of goods that both desired. Now, they can price the deal in virtual currency. Barter also helps firms make use of idle capacity. For example, advertising is “hugely bartered“ because many media, parti
18、cularly on the Web, can supply new ad space at little cost. Moreover, Internet ads dont register in industry-growth statistics, because many exchanges are arranged outside the formal exchanges. Like eBay, most barter sites allow members to “grade“ trading partners for honesty, quality and so on. Bar
19、ter exchanges can allow firms in countries with hyperinflation or nontradable currencies to enter global trades. Next year, a nonprofit exchange called Quick Lift Two (QL2) plans to open in Nairobi, offering barter deals to 38,000 Kenyan farmers in remote areas. Two small planes will deliver the goo
20、ds. QL2 director Gacii Waciuma says the farmers are excited to be “liberated from corrupt middlemen“. For them, barter evokes a bright future, not a precapitalist past. 21 The word “techies“ (Line 4, Para. 1) probably refers to those who are _。 （ A） afraid of technology. （ B） skilled in technology （
21、 C） ignorant of technology （ D） incompetent in technology 22 Many people may have deliberately helped Kyle because they _. （ A） were impressed by his creativity （ B） were eager to identify with his motto （ C） liked his goal announced in advance （ D） hoped to prove the power of the Internet 23 The In
22、ternet barter system relies heavily on _. （ A） the size of barter sites （ B） the use of virtual currency （ C） the quality of goods or services （ D） the location of trading companies 24 It is implied that Internet advertisements can help _。 （ A） companies make more profit （ B） companies do formal exc
23、hanges （ C） media register in statistics （ D） media grade barter sites 25 Which of the following is true of QL2 according to the author? （ A） It is criticized for doing business in a primitive way. （ B） It aims to deal with hyperinflation in some countries. （ C） It helps get rid of middlemen in trad
24、e and exchange. （ D） It is intended to evaluate the performance of trading partners. 25 Bold-faced, with a hyphen and ending in the adjectival, was coined by Shakespeare in Henry VI, Part I, when Lord Talbot, rescuing his son on a French battlefield, spoke of his “proud desire of bold-faced Victoria
25、. “ It was picked up in the 19th century by typesetters to describe a type like Clarendon, Antique or a thick version of Bodoni that stood out confidently, even impudently, from the page. The adjective was used in an 1880 article in The New York Times (we were hyphenated then) : “One of the handbill
26、s“ distributed by the Ku Klux Klan, noted a disapproving reporter, was “printed in bold-faced type on yellow paper“. Newspaper gossip columnists in the 30s, to catch the readers eye, began using this bold type for the names that made news in what was then called “care society“ (in contrast to “high“
27、 society, whose members claimed to prefer to stay out of those columns). In our time, the typeface metaphor was applied to a set of famous human faces. A fashion reporter John Duka of The Times was an early user of the phrase, as he wrote acerbically on Sept. 22, 1981: “At the overheated parties at
28、Calvin Kleins apartment, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman and Studio 54, the boldfaced names said the week had been so crammed that they were feeling a little under the breath, you know. “ Rita Kempley of The Washington Post noted in 1987 the sought-after status of “a boldfaced name in People mag
29、azine“; by 1999, Alan Peppard of The Dallas Morning News recalled to Texas Monthly that he began with a “social column,“ but “now we live in an age of celebrity, and there are very few people who care about what the debutantes are doing. So I call it celebrity, society, famous people, rich people, b
30、oldfaced names. “ The New York Times, which never had, does not have and is grimly determined never to have a “gossip column“ introduced a “people column“ in 2001. (When its current editor, Joyce Wadler, took a six-week break recently, she subheaded that item with a self-mocking “Air Kiss! Smooch! C
31、iao!“) The column covers the doings of celebrities, media biggies, fashion plates, show-biz stars, haut-monde notables, perennial personages and others famous for their fame. Its confident, fashionable and modern moniker became the driving force behind the recent popularization of the phrase with th
32、e former compound adjective, now an attributive noun: Boldface Names. 26 The first person who used the word “bold faced“ is _. （ A） Shakespeare （ B） Lord Talbot （ C） Clarendon, Antique （ D） the editor of The New York Times 27 Judging from the context, “cafe society“(Line 2, Para 2) refers to _. （ A）
33、 a society that runs a cafe （ B） a society that cook good coffee （ C） media people who regularly visit small informal restaurants （ D） a group of people who have the same love of drinking coffee 28 Today, the “the boldfaced names“ is used to refer to _. （ A） famous human faces （ B） famous, rich and
34、celebrated people （ C） overheated parties （ D） social column 29 The contents of “people column“ in The New York Times include _. （ A） the doings of celebrities （ B） the doings of media biggies, fashion plates （ C） the doings of show-biz stars, haut-monde notables, perennial personages （ D） all of th
35、e above 30 Which of the following may serve as the best title of the passage? （ A） Bold-faced. （ B） Boldface Names. （ C） The Origin of Boldface. （ D） The Driving Force Behind the Words. 30 Asked what he would do to improve a government, the ancient Chinese sage Confucius answered that his first meas
36、ure would be “to correct language“. He meant that if words dont mean what they seem to mean people cannot put any plan into action as intended. The state of language at the dawn of the twenty-first century appears to be more confused than everthanks in large part to the enormous influence of televis
37、ion, radio, and print media over what we buy, desire, and believe. Benjamin Radford, managing editor of The Skeptical Inquirer magazine, offers hundreds of examples of deceptive practices in journalism, advertising, political activism, public relations, and charity appeals. The real danger to the pu
38、blic, he insists, comes not from outright lies about events or individuals, because in most cases facts can ultimately be proven and mistakes corrected. But the emotional power of images, sound bites, and slogans can exert deep and lasting influence on our opinions and behaviors as consumers, voters
39、, and citizens. The detailed coverage of violent crimes dominating local TV news shows seldom includes any larger context. The cumulative impression left in the minds of viewers is that violent crime is rampant and on the rise. As a result, many people live in fear and many more support the idea of
40、ever-larger police forces, tougher laws, and bigger prisons without considering the actual crime rates in their community or across the nation. Dramatic incidents like the sniper attacks in the Washington D. C. area in the fall of 2002 receive so much media attention that, again, the actual numbers
41、of people affected and the likelihood of such attacks being repeated anywhere else become wildly exaggerated in peoples minds. In the media-fueled emotional state following such spectacular disasters, the effort and expense of turning schools into locked fortresses or putting cameras on every street
42、 to monitor suspicious individuals can seem insignificant compared to the hope of keeping our children safe from harm. Yet truly effective measures require clear thinking and clearly worded policies that citizensnot only lawyers and politicianscan understand. Too often the long-term future implicati
43、ons of new anticrime laws and policies are not even considered in the rush to feel safer by taking rapid and visible action. Misleading practices by advertisers are another subject of public concern. Governments have long limited ads for alcohol and tobacco products and examined claims by drug compa
44、nies, carmakers, food suppliers, and toy manufacturers to protect the public health. But advertising uses emotional appeals to shift the viewers focus away from facts. Viewers who do not take the trouble to distinguish between provable claims and pleasant but meaningless word play end up buying “the
45、 sizzle, not the steak“ and often paying high. 31 Confucius is cited by the author in paragraph 1 to imply that _. （ A） its urgent to improve a government （ B） its very important to use language correctly （ C） words dont mean what they seem to mean （ D） todays language is in a state of confusion 32
46、According to Benjamin Radford, the real danger to the public opinions lies in _. （ A） deceptive practices （ B） outright lies （ C） unproved facts and mistakes （ D） emotional images, sound bites, and slogans 33 Which of the following may reflect the authors opinion? （ A） TV news shows should include m
47、ore background （ B） We should have larger police forces, tougher laws, and bigger prisons （ C） The report on the sniper attacks in the Washington, D.C. area is too dramatic （ D） The media has done too much to keep our children safe from harm 34 According to the author, the truly effective measures a
48、re _. （ A） clear thinking and clearly worded policies （ B） policies that lawyers and politicians can understand （ C） measures that can be understood by the public （ D） measures that people feel safer by taking rapid and visible action 35 What does the author probably mean by “the sizzle, not the ste
49、ak“ (Line 6, Par. 5)? （ A） Sth. worthwhile. （ B） Sth. worthless. （ C） Sth. of no practical value. （ D） Sth. which is unnecessary. 35 A variety of significant, attractive short-term benefits will drive the development of modern self-sufficient homes. These include security from severe weather, climate changes, and natural disasters; security from infectious diseases and related health problems; a fresh and nutritious diet; a dependable food supply; and security from global unrest. But the real benefit of Ea
