1、大学英语四级改革适用（阅读）模拟试卷 96及答案与解析 Section C 0 Kodak s decision to file for bankruptcy protection is a sad, though not unexpected turning point for a leading American corporation that pioneered consumer photography and dominated the film market for decades, but ultimately failed to adapt to the digital rev
2、olution. Although many attribute Kodaks downfall to “complacency,“ that explanation doesn t acknowledge the lengths to which the company went to reinvent itself. Decades ago, Kodak anticipated that digital photography would overtake film and in fact, Kodak invented the first digital camera in 1975 b
3、ut in a fateful decision, the company chose to shelf its new discovery to focus on its traditional film business. It wasn t that Kodak was blind to the future, said Rebecca Henderson, a professor at Harvard Business School, but rather that it failed to execute on a strategy to confront it. By the ti
4、me the company realized its mistake, it was too late. Kodak is an example of a firm that was very much aware that they had to adapt, and spent a lot of money trying to do so, but ultimately failed. Large companies have a difficult time switching to new markets because there is a temptation to put ex
5、isting assets into the new businesses. Although Kodak anticipated the inevitable rise of digital photography, its corporate culture was too rooted in the successes of the past for it to make the clean break necessary to fully embrace the future. They were a company stuck in time. Their history was s
6、o important to them. Now their history has become a liability. Kodaks downfall over the last several decades was dramatic. In 1976, the company commanded 90% of the market for photographic film and 85% of the market for cameras. But the 1980s brought new competition from Japanese film company Fuji P
7、hoto, which undermined Kodak by offering lower prices for film and photo supplies. Kodaks decision not to pursue the role of official film for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics was a major miscalculation. The bid went instead to Fuji, which exploited its sponsorship to win a permanent foothold in the ma
8、rketplace. 1 What do we learn about Kodak? （ A） It went bankrupt all of a sudden. （ B） It s approaching its downfall. （ C） It initiated the digital revolution in the film industry. （ D） It is playing the dominant role in the film market. 2 Why does the author mention Kodaks invention of the first di
9、gital camera? （ A） To show its early attempt to reinvent itself. （ B） To show its effort to overcome complacency. （ C） To show its quick adaptation to the digital revolution. （ D） To show its will to compete with Japan s Fuji Photo. 3 Why do large companies have difficulty switching to new markets?
10、（ A） They find it costly to give up their existing assets. （ B） They tend to be slow in confronting new challenges. （ C） They are deeply stuck in their sad past. （ D） They tend to put existing assets into the new businesses. 4 What does the author say Kodak s history has become? （ A） A burden. （ B）
11、A mirror. （ C） A joke. （ D） A challenge. 5 What was Kodak s fatal mistake? （ A） Its blind faith in traditional photography. （ B） Its failure to see Fuji Photo s emergence. （ C） Its refusal to sponsor the 1984 Olympics. （ D） Its overconfidence in its corporate culture. 5 Of all the lessons taught by
12、the financial crisis, the most personal has been that Americans arent so good at money-management. We take out home loans we cant afford. We run up sky-high credit-card debt. We don t save nearly enough for retirement. In response, supporters of financial-literacy education are moving with renewed e
13、nthusiasm. School districts in states such as New Jersey and Illinois are adding money-management courses to their curriculums. The Treasury and Education departments are sending lesson plans to high schools and encouraging students to compete in the National Financial Capability Challenge that begi
14、ns in March. Students with top scores on that exam will receive certificates but chances for long-term benefits are slim. As it turns out, there is little evidence that traditional efforts to boost financial know-how help students make better decisions outside the classroom. Even as the financial-li
15、teracy movement has gained steam over the past decade, scores have been falling on tests that measure how well students learn about things such as budgeting, credit cards, insurance and investments. A recent survey of college students conducted for the Jumpstart Coalition for Personal Financial Lite
16、racy found that students whod had a personal-finance or money management course in high school scored no better than those who hadn t. “We need to figure out how to do this the right way,“ says Lewis Mandell, a professor at the University of Washington who after 15 years of studying financial-litera
17、cy programs has come to the conclusion that current methods don t work. A growing number of researchers and educators agree that a more radical approach is needed. They advocate starting financial education a lot easier than high school, putting real money and spending decisions into kids hand and t
18、alking openly about the emotions and social influences tied to how we spend. Other initiatives are tackling such real-world issues as the commercial and social pressures that affect purchasing decisions. Why exactly do you want those expensive brand-name shoes so badly? “It takes confidence to take
19、a stand and to think differently,“ says Jeroo Billimoria, founder of Aflatoun, a nonprofit whose curriculum, used in more than 30 countries, aims to help kids get a leg up in their financial lives. “This goes beyond money and savings.“ 6 The financial-literacy education is intended to_. （ A） increas
20、e Americans awareness of the financial crisis （ B） renew Americans enthusiasm about money-management （ C） enable Americans to manage money wisely （ D） help Americans to overcome the financial crisis 7 According to the author, the National Financial Capability Challenge_. （ A） is expected to be rewar
21、ding （ B） has proved to be well-received （ C） has proved to be untrustworthy （ D） is expected to be ineffective 8 By saying that “the financial-literacy movement has gained steam“, the author means that the movement_. （ A） has been regarded as unimaginative （ B） has received much unfair criticism （
22、C） has gone through financial difficulties （ D） has been more and more prosperous 9 Lewis Mandell suggests that we should figure out how to_. （ A） carry out financial-literacy education properly （ B） manage money in a more efficient way （ C） help students score better in money-management courses （ D
23、） improve the social awareness of financial education 10 Jeroo Billimoria is most likely to agree that commercial and social pressures make one s purchasing decisions_. （ A） difficult （ B） advisable （ C） acceptable （ D） unwise 10 Many families in the United States have a larger income now than ever
24、before, but people are finding it difficult to make ends meet anyway. Almost everyone is wondering, “What happens to all my money? I never seem to have anything left to put away.“ Why isnt a dollar worth as much as it used to be? One dollar is always worth the same amount, that is, 100 cents. But th
25、e value of a dollar is how much it can buy. The value of money depends on the cost of living. Economists say that the cost of living is the money that a family must pay for the necessities of life such as food, housing or rent, clothes and medical expenses. For many years now, the cost of living has
26、 increased greatly, so the value of the dollar has decreased. When a dollar has a low value, you cannot buy as many things with it. No one fully understands why the cost of living keeps increasing, but economists believe that workers and producers can make prices go up. As workers earn more money, t
27、hey have more money to spend, so they demand more goods. If there is a great demand for certain goods, the prices of these goods go up. At the same time, if theres a shortage of goods, the price also goes up. For example, if everyone wants to buy more and more gas, the price of gas goes up. When com
28、panies withhold gas from buyers, they can also make the price of gas go up. Families need to know what happens to their money. They need to make their income meet the cost of living, so many people plan a family budget. A budget is a list of monthly expenses. If your expenses add up to more than you
29、r income, you must find ways to save money. Maybe youre spending too much on entertainment. Or if youre spending too much on clothes, you may want to sew your own clothes. Budgeting helps you spend your money wisely as the cost of living increases. 11 What has troubled many families in the United St
30、ates? （ A） A not-large-enough income. （ B） Nothing is left over to put away. （ C） The increasing cost of living. （ D） A shortage of certain goods. 12 Why does the cost of living keep increasing? （ A） There are always shortages of goods. （ B） The workers are getting lower and lower pay. （ C） The gove
31、rnment makes no difference. （ D） People demand more goods. 13 Which of the following is TRUE? （ A） Housewives needn t know anything happening to the market. （ B） Peoples lives are affected by the value of money. （ C） There seems no need for everyone to know about the rising cost of living. （ D） The
32、prices will go up if more goods are produced. 14 According to the passage, when people find it hard to make ends meet, they need to_. （ A） find ways to save money （ B） do extra work to earn more money （ C） try some other means of making money （ D） raise a protest against the high cost of living 15 B
33、udgeting helps_. （ A） one to make his income meet the cost of living （ B） the government to battle the rising cost of living （ C） merchants to produce more goods （ D） the workers to earn more money 15 More attention was paid to the quality of production in France at the time of Rene Coty. Charles De
34、schanel was then the financial minister. He stressed that workmanship and quality were more important than quantity for industrial production. It would be necessary to produce quality goods for the international markets to compete with those produced in other countries. The French economy needed a l
35、arger share of international market to balance its import and export trade. French industrial and agricultural production was still inadequate to meet the immediate needs of the people, let alone long-ranged developments. Essential imports had stretched the national credit to the breaking point. Ren
36、ts were tightly controlled, but the extreme inflation affected general population most severely through the cost of food. Food costs took as much as 80 percent of the workers income. Wages, it is true, had risen. Extensive family allowances and benefits were paid by the state, and there was full-tim
37、e and overtime employment. Taken together, these factors enabled the working class to exist but allowed them no sense of security. In this discouraging situation, workmen were willing to work overseas for higher wages. The government was unwilling to let workers leave the country. It was feared that
38、 migration of workers would reduce the labor force. The lack of qualified workers might hinder the improvement in the quality of industrial products produced. Qualified workers employed abroad would only increase the quantity of quality goods produced in foreign countries. Also the quantity of quali
39、ty goods produced in France would not be able to increase as part of its qualified labor force moved to other countries. 16 The purpose of the passage is to_. （ A） explain the French government s emphasis on quality products （ B） discuss Charles Deschanels contribution to the French industrial devel
40、opment （ C） compare the quality of French goods with that of foreign goods （ D） show French workmens enthusiasm to seek well-paid jobs in foreign countries 17 It can be inferred from the passage that at the time of Rene Coty_. （ A） France was still at the first stage of industrial development （ B） F
41、rench workers were less paid than the workers in any other European countries （ C） the unemployment rate in France was comparatively higher than that in other European countries （ D） French workers were able to live better with the increase in their wages 18 It is implied in the passage that at that
42、 time_. （ A） France had a very large share of international market （ B） the import and export trade in France was making a successful advance （ C） demand and supply in France was barely balanced （ D） France was experiencing economic depression 19 Which of the following is the best indicator of the e
43、xtreme inflation in France? （ A） Eighty percent increase in the prices of consumer goods. （ B） High cost of food. （ C） High rents for houses. （ D） Lack of agricultural products. 20 Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage? （ A） Rents in France were tightly controlled. （ B） France was f
44、looding the international market with inferior products. （ C） French workers were prohibited from going abroad to find jobs. （ D） The migration of French workers would hinder the improvement of quality in industrial production. 大学英语四级改革适用（阅读）模拟试卷 96答案与解析 Section C 【知识模块】 仔细阅读 1 【正确答案】 B 【试题解析】 细节题。短
45、文开头提出 Kodaks decision to file for bankruptcy protection，即柯达决定提出申请破产保护，由此可知柯达濒临破产。故选 B。 【知识模块】 仔细阅读 2 【正确答案】 A 【试题解析】 细节题。根据题干可定位至短文第二段第二句 Kodak invented the firstdigital camera in 1975 联系上下文可知作者提及柯达在 1975年发明了第一个数码相机是为了说明前文 the company went to reinvent itself.故答案选 A。 【知识模块】 仔细阅读 3 【正确答案】 D 【试题解析】 细节题
46、。短文第四段第二句指出 Large companies have a difficult time switching to new markets because there is a temptation to put existing assets into the newbusinesses即大公司不能进入新市场的原因是他们在开创新业务的过程中，依然不愿放弃现有的优势。由此可知，答案为 D。 【知识模块】 仔细阅读 4 【正确答案】 A 【试题解析】 细节题。 由题干可定位至倒数第二段最后一句 Now their history hasbecome a liability 即他们的历史
47、现在变成了一个负担。故选项 A正确。 【知识模块】 仔细阅读 5 【正确答案】 C 【试题解析】 细节题。作者在最后一段倒数第二句指出 Kodakdecision not to pursuethe role of official film for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics was a major miscalculation即柯达决定不再继续作为 1984年洛杉矶奥运会的官方胶卷赞助商是一个重大的误算。由此可知，答案为 C。 【知识模块】 仔 细阅读 【知识模块】 仔细阅读 6 【正确答案】 C 【试题解析】 推断题。短文第一段提出 Americans ar
48、ent so good at money -management 即美国人不善于理财，接着在第二段指出 In response，supporters of financial-literacyeducation are moving with renewed enthusiasm即针对这种情况。金融知识教育的支持者们以新的热情采取了行动。由此可推断，金融知识教育的目的就是帮助 美国人理财。故选 C。 【知识模块】 仔细阅读 7 【正确答案】 D 【试题解析】 细节题。短文第三段第一句指出 Studentswill receive certificatesbutchances for long-
49、term benefits are slim即作者认为 the National Financial CapabilityChallenge给学生带来的长远利益很少。故选 D。 【知识模块】 仔细阅读 8 【正确答案】 D 【试题解析】 细节题。由题干可定位至 原文第三段可看出 gained steam指的是“经济越来越繁荣 ”，故答案选 D。 【知识模块】 仔细阅读 9 【正确答案】 A 【试题解析】 细节题。短文第四段第一句指出 We need to figure out how to do this theright way，联系上下文可知 this指的就是上文进行金融知识教育。故选A。 【知识模块】 仔细阅读 10 【正确答案】 D 【试题解析】 细节题。根据短文最后一段开头 the commercial and social pressures thataffect purchasing decisions Why exactly do you want those expensive brandname shoesso badly 可知商业和社会压力影响消费决定，导致不
