1、大学英语四级改革适用（阅读）模拟试卷 19及答案与解析 Section B 0 The Purchase of Alaska, a Real Deal A)Alaska is the largest state of the United States of America by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean
2、to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait. As of 2007, Alaska remains the least densely populated state, with a population of 683,478. B)The area that became Alaska was purchased from the Russian Empire after Western Union discontinued construction of its first electri
3、c telegraph line which ran from California, up the coast of North America, across the Bering Strait, continuing to Moscow and into the European telegraph network. Despite $3 million in U.S. investment for the Russian-American telegraph expedition, work ceased upon the completion of the competing tra
4、nsatlantic telegraph cable. The U.S. realized the potential of continuing the line to Moscow and sent Secretary of State William H. Seward to negotiate with the Russian Ambassador to fund the remaining phases of the telegraph line. Russia did not see the potential in funding, so Alaska was offered i
5、n exchange for the value of the Russian-American telegraph. The Russians feared that if they did not sell Russian North America, it would be taken from them by the westward expansion of the United States and Canada. They tried to play one potential purchaser off against the other to start a bidding
6、war, but this was largely unsuccessful. C)The U.S. Senate approved the purchase of Alaska from the Russian Empire on March 30, 1867, for $7.2 million at 2 cents per acre, about 5 cents per hectare. When adjusted for inflation, the total sum paid equates to approximately $111 million in today s dolla
7、rs. The land went through several administrative changes before becoming an organized territory on May 11, 1912 and the 49th state of the U.S. on January 3, 1959. The name “Alaska“ was already introduced in the Russian colonial time, when it was only used for the peninsula and is derived from the Al
8、eut alaxsxaq, meaning “the mainland“, or more literally, “the object towards which the action of the sea is directed“. It is also known as Alyeska, the “great land“, an Aleut word derived from the same root. D)The first European contact with Alaska occurred in the year 1741, when Vitus Bering led an
9、 expedition for the Russian Navy aboard the St. Peter. After his crew returned to Russia bearing the finest fur in the world, small associations of fur traders began to sail from the shores of Siberia towards the Aleutian Islands. The first permanent European settlement was founded in 1784, and the
10、Russian-American Company carried out an expanded colonization program during the early to mid-1800s. New Archangel on Kodiak Island was Alaskas first capital, but for a century under both Russia and the U.S. Sitka was the capital. The Russians never fully colonized Alaska, and the colony was never v
11、ery profitable. William H. Seward, the U.S. Secretary of State, negotiated the Alaskan purchase in 1867 for $7.2 million. Alaska was loosely governed by the military for years, and was unofficially a territory of the United States from 1884 on. E)In the 1890s, gold rushes in Alaska and the nearby Yu
12、kon Territory brought thousands of miners and settlers to Alaska. Alaska was granted official territorial status in 1912. At this time the capital was moved to Juneau. F)During World War II, the Aleutian Islands Campaign focused on the three outer Aleutian Islands Attu, Agattu and Kiska that were in
13、vaded by Japanese troops and occupied between June 1942 and August 1943. Unalaska Harbor became a significant base for the U.S. Army Air Corps and Navy submariners. G)The U.S. Lend-Lease program involved flying American warplanes through Canada to Fairbanks and thence Nome; Russian pilots took posse
14、ssion of these aircraft, ferrying them to fight the German invasion of Russia. The construction of military bases contributed to the population growth of some Alaskan cities. H)Statehood was approved in 1958. Alaska was officially proclaimed a state on January 3,1959. In 1964, the massive “Good Frid
15、ay Earthquake“ killed 131 people and destroyed several villages, many by the resultant tsunamis. It was the second most powerful earthquake in the recorded history of the world, with a moment magnitude of 9.2. It was 100 times more powerful than the 1989 San Francisco earthquake. Luckily, the center
16、 of the earthquake was in an unpopulated area or thousands more would have been killed. I)The 1968 discovery of oil at Prudhoe Bay and the 1977 completion of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline led to an oil boom. In 1989, the Exxon Valdez hit a reef in the Prince William Sound, spilling over 11 million US ga
17、llons of crude oil over 1,100 miles(1,600 km)of coastline. Today, the battle between philosophies of development and conservation is seen in the contentious debate over oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. J)The 2005 gross state product of Alaska was $39.9 billion, 45th in the nation
18、. Its per-capita GSP for 2006 was $43,748, 7th in the nation. The oil and gas industry dominates the Alaskan economy, with more than 80% of the states revenues derived from petroleum extraction. Alaskas main export product(excluding oil and natural gas)is seafood, primarily salmon, cod and crab. Agr
19、iculture represents only a fraction of the Alaskan economy. K)Agricultural production is primarily for consumption within the state and includes dairy products, vegetables, and livestock. Manufacturing is limited, with most foodstuffs and general goods imported from elsewhere. Employment is primaril
20、y in government and industries such as natural resource extraction, shipping, and transportation. Military bases are a significant component of the economy in both Fairbanks and Anchorage. Federal subsidies are also an important part of the economy, allowing the state to keep taxes low. Its industri
21、al outputs are crude petroleum, natural gas, coal, gold, precious metals, zinc and other mining, seafood processing, timber and wood products. There is also a growing service and tourism sector. Tourists have contributed to the economy by supporting local lodging. 1 When adjusted for inflation, the
22、total price of Alaska paid by the U.S. is about $111 million today. 2 By supporting local lodging, tourists have made a contribution to Alaskas economy. 3 Oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has caused a contentious debate between philosophies of development and conservation. 4 Russi
23、a was offered to America for the value of the Russian-American telegraph. 5 The capital of Alaska was moved to Juneau in 1912. 6 Alaska has the smallest population of 683,478 in U.S 7 During June 1942 and August 1943, Attn, Agattu and Kiska were occupied by Japanese. 8 The Russians tried to play as
24、a purchaser to get a higher price, but in vain. 9 Petroleum extraction has played the main role in the Alaskan economy. 10 Because of construction of military bases, population of some Alaskan cities grows larger. 10 President Bush and the 9/11 Attacks 2000 Election A)As Clintons presidency came to
25、a close, Democrats nominated Al Gore, Clinton s vice president, as their nominee, and the Republicans chose George W. Bush, the governor of Texas and son of former President George H.W. Bush. B)Florida had traditionally been a Democratic-leaning state, but explosive population growth in the late nin
26、eties had brought many social and economic conservative Cubans to southern Florida. The growth had left Florida very evenly split among the parties. C)On election night, the news media first predicted Florida to go to Gore, then to Bush, and then decided that the race was too close to call. Florida
27、law provided for an automatic recount when votes differ by such a small margin, and when Florida decided that Bush had won, Gore sued Bush to force further recounts in several Florida cities. Bush counter-sued, and the case went to the Supreme Court of the United States. In a 5-4 decision, the Court
28、 decided that the state of Florida must recount all the votes in all the Florida cities and not just those for which Gore had sued. As Florida was required by the Florida Constitution to certify its election within days of the Courts decision, there was not enough time to recount the entire state. T
29、hus, the final state count stood, with Bush winning Florida by 537 votes. 9/11 and its Effects D)Less than a year later, on September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked four airline jets. Two of the aircraft were flown into the World Trade Center towers in New York City, resulting in their collapse and t
30、he deaths of thousands of occupants and rescuers. Another was flown into the Pentagon, the U.S. military headquarters in Washington, D. C. The fourth airliner crashed in Pennsylvania as a result of resistance by the passengers. Its intended target is believed to have been the U.S. Capital in Washing
31、ton, D.C. Approximately 3, 000 people died in the attacks, known as “9/11“. E)Responsibility for the attacks was soon attached to Osama Bin Laden, the leader of al-Quaeda, an Islamic terrorist group with training camps in Afghanistan. There had been many smaller terrorist attacks aimed towards Ameri
32、cans by al-Quaeda before 2001, including the bombing of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998. F)The attacks, while shocking and deadly, suddenly ended the period of sharp division after the 2000 election. Over the following year, America experienced a period of unparalleled political unity a
33、mong the public and elected officials alike. Americans more readily expressed pride in their country and rallied to fight the terror led by the attacks. George Bush received praise from across the political world for his leadership following the attacks and his swift invasion of Afghanistan. The War
34、 on Terror G)Directly following the September 11th attacks, Congress drafted and overwhelmingly passed the USA Patriot Act, which was signed into law on October 26, 2001. The law, while forcing citizens to give up some rights, strengthened the government s ability to gather information and convict s
35、uspected terrorists. Hundreds of accused terrorists have been charged and approximately half have been convicted. There have, however, been reports of abuse of the law, which went under reexamination by Congress in 2005. H)In response to the attacks, the United States declared a symbolic war on terr
36、orism. The first target in the war was Afghanistan, where the Taliban government was believed to be hiding Bin Laden and al-Qaeda. After the Taliban refused to turn Bin Laden over, American and British forces began bombing strategic Taliban centers on October 7. The invasion was swift, and major fig
37、hting had ended by the middle of 2002. The Taliban government was eliminated, and the Afghanis soon participated in their first democratic processes in many years. I)In his 2002 State of the Union speech, Bush named Iraq, Iran, and North Korea as a part of the “Axis of Evil“, a phrase he partially i
38、nvented from the World War II Axis Powers. President Bush specifically named these three countries because they were all described as evil states, either fostering terrorists or trying to obtain nuclear weapons. J)The successful invasion of Afghanistan was the first time that the newly adopted Bush
39、policy had been carried out. The Bush policy stated that there was no difference between a terrorist and one who supports a terrorist, and that the U.S. would practice strikes against perceived threats to American security(acting alone if needed), as it was the United States duty to spread freedom a
40、nd democracy to the rest of the world. War in Iraq K)As a result to a perceived security threat verified by intelligence(which has now been found to have been unreliable), President Bush and a number of allies, believed by the President as the “coalition of the willing“, began the invasion without U
41、.N. approval. On the night of March 17, 2003, President Bush gave Hussein and his two sons, Uday and Qusay, a final notice to leave Iraq in 48 hours or face an invasion. After the passing of the deadline given by the President, the invasion of Iraq began. The invasion lasted only a short time, and t
42、he Iraqi government and military collapsed within three weeks. L)After months of searching, Hussein was finally captured on December 13. Weapons of Mass Destruction were never located in Iraq. Continued suicide bombings and the ongoing American casualties led to a steady decline in American popular
43、support for the war. M)The invasion of Iraq is considered by many to mark the end of the political unity following the September 11th attacks. Although both the public and Congress favored going to war by overwhelming majorities, a substantial minority expressed reservations about invading. Many fea
44、red that the administration lacked a plan for rebuilding once the war was over. Still others worried that an invasion would push away U.S. allies. On February 15, just one month before the invasion commenced, millions protested worldwide, including hundreds of thousands in 150 U.S. cities. 11 No dif
45、ference exists between a terrorist and one who supports a terrorist, Bush said. 12 Many expressed reservations because they worried the administration didn t have a plan after the war. 13 The Iraqi government collapsed in three weeks after the invasion. 14 The three countries, Iraq, Iran, and North
46、Korea, either fosters terrorists or tries to obtain nuclear weapons. 15 The support for Iraq war was declined because of continued suicide bombing. 16 George Bush received praise for his attacking Afghanistan in the political world. 17 The Afghanistan war is a response to the terrorist attacks. 18 E
47、xplosive population growth had made the two parties evenly split in Florida. 19 Smaller attacks had happened many times before 9/11. 20 The USA Patriot Act forces citizens to give up some right while strengthens the government s ability. 20 It Isnt Easy Being Green Green stories of hotels A)Over the
48、 summer, I stayed at four hotels in the United States. They were all owned by different companies, but they had one thing in common: A little card on the bathroom counter telling me that the establishment was very concerned about the environment, and appealing to me to do my part to help them save t
49、he earth by hanging up my wet towels and using them again the next day. Two of the hotels also placed a card next to the bed informing me that housekeeping would not change the sheets unless I left the card on the pillow. B)It is true that keeping all those towels clean requires an enormous amount of electricity and water and soap, and that cutting down on the number of loads of laundry would be more eco-friendly than my insisting on a new towel each day. But am I a heartless cynic for doubting that a collective environmental anxiety has seized the ho
