1、大学英语四级改革适用（阅读）模拟试卷 272及答案与解析 Section C 0 On average, American kids aged 3 to 12 spent 29 hours a week in school, eight hours more than they did in 1981. They also did more household work and participated in more of such organized activities as soccer and ballet (芭蕾舞 ). Involvement in sports, in part
2、icular, rose almost 50% from 1981 to 1997: boys now spend an average of four hours a week playing sports; girls log half that time. All in all, however, childrens leisure time dropped from 40% of the day in 1981 to 25%. “Children are affected by the same time crunch (危机 ) that affects their parents,
3、“ says Sandra Hofferth, who headed the recent study of childrens timetable. A chief reason, she says, is that more mothers are working outside the home. (Nevertheless, children in both double-income and “male breadwinner“ households spent comparable amounts of time interacting with their parents, 19
4、 hours and 22 hours respectively. In contrast, children spent only 9 hours with their single mothers.) All work and no play could make for some very messed-up kids. “Play is the most powerful way a child explores the world and learns about himself,“ says T. Berry Brazelton, professor at Harvard Medi
5、cal School. Unstructured play encourages independent thinking and allows the young to negotiate their relationships with their peers, but kids aged 3 to 12 spent only 12 hours a week engaged in it. The children sampled spent a quarter of their rapidly decreasing “free time“ watching television. But
6、that, believe it or not, was one of the findings parents might regard as good news. If theyre spending less time in front of the TV set, however, kids arent replacing it with reading. Despite efforts to get kids more interested in books, the children spent just over an hour a week reading. Lets face
7、 it, whos got the time? 1 By mentioning “the same time crunch“ (Line 1, Para. 2) Sandra Hofferth means _. （ A） children have little time to play with their parents （ B） children are not taken good care of by their working parents （ C） both parents and children suffer from lack of leisure time （ D） b
8、oth parents and children have trouble managing their time 2 According to the author, the reason given by Sandra Hofferth for the time crunch is _. （ A） quite convincing （ B） partially true （ C） totally groundless （ D） rather confusing 3 According to the author a child develops better if_. （ A） he ha
9、s plenty of time reading and studying （ B） he is left to play with his peers in his own way （ C） he has more time participating in school activities （ D） he is free to interact with his working parents 4 The author is concerned about the fact that American kids _. （ A） are engaged in more and more s
10、tructured activities （ B） are increasingly neglected by their working mothers （ C） are spending more and more time watching TV （ D） are involved less and less in household work 5 We can infer from the passage that _. （ A） extracurricular activities promote childrens intelligence （ B） most children w
11、ill turn to reading with TV sets switched off （ C） efforts to get kids interested in reading have been fruitful （ D） most parents believe reading to be beneficial to children 5 People become quite illogical when they try to decide what can be eaten and what cannot. If you lived in the Mediterranean,
12、 for instance, you would consider octopus (章鱼 ) a great delicacy (美味佳肴 ). You would not be able to understand why some people find it repulsive. On the other hand, your stomach would turn at the idea of frying potatoes in animal fat the normally accepted practice in many northern countries. The sad
13、truth is that most of us have been brought up to eat certain foods and we stick to them all our lives. No creature has received more praise and abuse than the common garden snail. Cooked in wine, snails are a great luxury in various parts of the world. There are countless people who, ever since thei
14、r early years, have learned to associate snails with food. My friend, Robert, lives in a country where snails are looked down upon. As his flat is in a large town, he has no garden of his own. For years he has been asking me to collect snails from my garden and take them to him. The idea never appea
15、led to me very much, but one day, after a heavy shower, I happened to be walking in my garden when I noticed a huge number of snails taking a walk on some of my prize plants. Acting on a sudden impulse (冲动 ), I collected several dozen, put them in a paper bag, and took them to Robert. Robert was del
16、ighted to see me and equally pleased with my little gift. I left the bag in the hall and Robert and I went into the living room where we talked for a couple of hours. I had forgotten all about the snails when Robert suddenly said that I must stay to dinner. Snails would, of course, be the main dish.
17、 I did not fancy the idea and I reluctantly followed Robert out of the room. To my surprise, we saw that there were snails everywhere, they had escaped from the paper bag and had taken complete possession of the hall. I have never been able to look at a snail since then. 6 The word “repulsive“ (Line
18、 3, Para. l)most probably means “ _“. （ A） disgusting （ B） pleasant （ C） acceptable （ D） delicious 7 We can infer from the second paragraph that when collecting the snails, the author_. （ A） was glad that he could share them with his friend （ B） was angry because they might damage his beloved plants
19、 （ C） was excited about being able to give his friend a surprise （ D） was depressed because it was hard to extinguish them all 8 The author finds that snails _. （ A） are as delicious as octopus （ B） are disliked in his hometown （ C） are the most controversial food （ D） are as popular as fried potato
20、es 9 The best title of this passage might be “_“. （ A） One Mans Meat is Another Mans Poison （ B） Foods and Cultures （ C） Snail and Octopus （ D） People Are Illogical in Front of Delicacies 10 As indicated in the passage, people love different foods mainly because _. （ A） they live in different places
21、 （ B） they learn to eat certain foods in their families （ C） they have different understandings of delicacy （ D） they are too illogical to explain 10 A detailed and thorough research project undertaken by the Open University recently reported that their evidence appears to show that competition betw
22、een nearby schools does not significantly improve academic standards. Indeed, their report inclines to the opposite outcome: the exam results may actually decline where competition is fiercest. When the further education sector was “privatized“ a few years ago, competition between colleges became tr
23、uly fierce, at least in urban areas where potential students could choose between several of them. Colleges appointed highly paid marketing directors and gave them large budgets; some even “bribed“ interested students with promises of hundreds of pounds if they completed certain courses satisfactori
24、ly. Fully competitive markets being a philosophical foundation of Britains recent governments, it was no surprise to hear claims that many educational developments of the 1990s would move us towards a free market in secondary education giving youngsters and their parents a free choice of where to st
25、udy. However, the secondary sector did not become particularly competitive while, admittedly, the consumers have been given more information, which is one aspect of a truly free market. It is very rare that two nearby schools with at least some empty places are similar enough to be comparable yet di
26、fferent enough to be rankable; only where that occurs can there be true competition. The Open University research was probably not flawed but its conclusions are. This is because the team did not really compare areas having true competition (as just defined) with areas that do not. But, let us all b
27、reathe a sigh of relief. Secondary schools had started of late to move in the marketing direction considering allocating scarce resources of staff and money to persuading the pupils that their schools are the best in the area. No schools could afford to do that properly, so it is a relief to realize
28、 this research tells us we dont have to. Competition? We havent got time for it! Lets spend our small budget in teaching and learning, not in competing and marketing. 11 It is indicated in the passage that competition between schools results in _. （ A） higher enrollment rate （ B） lower academic stan
29、dard （ C） higher marketing expenses （ D） privatization of further education 12 Real competition can happen only when _. （ A） academic standard is improved by the education sector （ B） there are comparable schools with different educational qualities （ C） students have different interests in differen
30、t courses （ D） schools of all areas have sufficient budget for their development 13 According to the passage, the free market in secondary education _. （ A） only provides consumers with more information （ B） is more competitive than the higher education market （ C） means there will be more intensive
31、 competition than in colleges （ D） is a real surprise to Britains recent government 14 The author of the passage feels relieved that_. （ A） secondary schools have to market themselves （ B） most secondary schools have scarce resources of staff and money （ C） the research proves most secondary schools
32、 are the best （ D） schools neednt prove that they are the best 15 What might be the authors attitude towards competitions between nearby schools? （ A） The author is in favor of various kinds of competition. （ B） The author is indifferent to any competition and its result. （ C） The author is not cert
33、ain of the effect of competitions. （ D） The author is against inter-collegiate competitions. 15 The number of speakers of English in Shakespeares time is estimated to have been about five million. Today it is estimated that some 260 million people speak it as a native language, mainly in the United
34、States, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. In addition to the standard varieties of English found in these areas, there are a great many regional and social varieties of the language, as well as various levels of usage that are employed both in its spoken and wr
35、itten forms. It is virtually impossible to estimate the number of people in the world who have acquired an adequate working knowledge of English in addition to their own language. The purposes for which English is learned and the situations in which such learning takes place are so varied that it is
36、 difficult to define and still more difficult to assess what constitutes an adequate working knowledge for each situation. The main reason for the widespread demand for English is its present-day importance as a world language. Besides serving the infinite needs of its native speakers, English is a
37、language in which some of the most important works in science, technology, and other fields are being produced, and not always by native speakers. It is widely used for such purposes as meteorological and airport communications, international conferences, and the dissemination (传播 ) of information o
38、ver the radio and television networks of many nations. It is a language of wider communication for a number of developing countries, especially former British colonies. Many of these countries have multilingual populations and need a language for internal communication in such matters as government,
39、 commerce industry, law and education as well as for international communication and for access to the scientific and technological development in the West. 16 There are about 260 million people who can speak_. （ A） English in its regional variety （ B） English in its standard variety （ C） English as
40、 a second language （ D） English as a working language 17 According to this passage, the English language might be used _. （ A） for only one reason that English is becoming an international language （ B） mainly by people from the American continent and the European continent （ C） as an official langu
41、age in an international conference on the American culture （ D） in science and technology as well as in cultural and historical studies of all countries 18 The author seems to be wondering _. （ A） what makes up ones adequate working knowledge of English （ B） why English can serve so many needs of va
42、rious people （ C） how to relate the technological problems in airport communications （ D） when English became so widely used 19 “these countries“ (line 7, Para. 3) most probably refers to _. （ A） the developing countries which used to be colonies （ B） the former British colonies which now are develo
43、ping （ C） the colonized countries which become as strong as Britain （ D） the developing countries which are still colonized by Britain 20 A common language is necessary for some multi-lingual countries _. （ A） for both internal and international communications （ B） for access to the development in o
44、ther countries （ C） for higher efficiency of the government and better life of the public （ D） for wider communications among colonial nations 大学英语四级改革适用（阅读）模拟试卷 272答案与解析 Section C 【知识模块】 仔细阅读 1 【正确答案】 C 【试题解析】 语义理解题。该短语所在句子的上文 (第 1段最后一句 )表明 “孩子的课余时间比以前少了 ”，而本句则指出父母和孩子都受 time crunch的影响，可见 the same t
45、ime crunch是指空闲时间 不够用，故 C正确。 【知识模块】 仔细阅读 2 【正确答案】 B 【试题解析】 观点态度题。第 2段第 2句中括号里的内容表明了作者的观点。转折词 Nevertheless说明作者的观点跟上文 Sandra Hofferth的看法不完全一致，而作者在下文举例中提到，单身母亲因为要上班，与孩子在一起的时间只有 9个小时，确实少了很多，这与 Hofferth所述一致，因此选 B。 【知识模块】 仔细阅读 3 【正确答案】 B 【试题解析】 事实细节题。第 3段最后一句表明孩子自由玩乐能促使他们独 立思考，并使他们学会处理与同龄人的关系，其中 unstructur
46、ed play相当于 B中的play in his own way，故 B正确。 【知识模块】 仔细阅读 4 【正确答案】 A 【试题解析】 观点态度题。文章一开头作者就说孩子们比 1981年时上学的时间每周多 8小时，他们还做更多的家务，参加更多的有组织性的活动等等，而这些均是造成孩子们空闲时间越来越少的原因，而孩子们空闲时间少也正是作者忧虑的问题，故可推知本题选 A。 B是作者在第 2段括号里反驳过的观点； C错在more and more time，而且作者对孩子看电视也不完全反对；孩子们事实上要做更多家务，故 D错。 【知识模块】 仔细阅读 5 【正确答案】 D 【试题解析】 推理判断
47、题。文章最后一段倒数第 2句说 “尽管父母费尽心思培养孩子的读书兴趣，可孩子们一周也只不过花一个多小时读书 ”。由此可见，父母认为读书对孩子有好处，即 D。 A中的 extra curricular activities包含 structured and unstructured activities，文中只说 unstructured activities有 助于培养孩子独立思考以及与同龄人交往的能力，没有说 structured activities对 intelligence有什么帮助； B与文章的倒数第 3句不符； C与倒数第 2句不符。 【知识模块】 仔细阅读 【知识模块】 仔细阅读
48、 6 【正确答案】 A 【试题解析】 词义推断题。解答本题的关键首先要理解 repulsive前面的 it是指上一句的 octopus，由 On the other hand可知第 2句和第 3句描述的是人们对章鱼作为食物的两种相反的反应，而与 a great delicacy相 反的是 A，故 A为正确答案。 【知识模块】 仔细阅读 7 【正确答案】 B 【试题解析】 推理判断题。在第 2段中查找到作者有一天在阵雨后散步发现蜗牛爬在他那些 prize plants上面，所以才突然有了去抓蜗牛的冲动。理解 prize在此意为 “一流的，珍视的 ”，便可知作者当时很生气，由此可确定答案为 B。
49、【知识模块】 仔细阅读 8 【正确答案】 C 【试题解析】 事实细节题。本题考查复合句的理解。第 2段第 1句 “No creaturemorethan snails” 表达的是最高 级概念，即： Snails have received most praise and abuse由此可知，蜗牛是最具争议性的食物，因此 C就是该句的近义替换。作者没有把蜗牛与章鱼或炸土豆作比较，因此 A和 D不对；文中提到在朋友的居住地，蜗牛是没人瞧得上的，但没有提到在作者的家乡是否受欢迎，因此B也不对。 【知识模块】 仔细阅读 9 【正确答案】 A 【试题解析】 主旨大意题。文章第 1句话其实是全文的主题句，说明人们对于选择吃什么、不吃什么是没有什么章法的，暗示了人们在饮食方面有大相径庭的喜好， 接着用了数个具体例子说明，并着重以蜗牛为例，阐明这种差异。英语习语“One mans meat is another mans poison“形象地表达了这一观点。本题最具干扰性的是 B，文章在第 1段谈到饮食有差异，这涉及到了 culture，但作者并没花太多笔墨描述各国不同的文化
