1、大学英语四级（阅读）模拟试卷 56及答案与解析 Section B Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. You should decide on the best choice. 0 Sign has become a scientific hot button. Only
2、 in the past 20 years have specialists in language study realized that signed languages are unique a speech of the hand. They offer a new way to probe how the brain generates and understands language, and throw new light on an old scientific controversy: whether language, complete with grammar, is s
3、omething that we are born with, or whether it is a learned behavior. The current interest in sign language has roots in the pioneering work of one rebel teacher at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., the worlds only liberal arts university for deaf people. When Bill Stokoe went to Gallaudet to
4、 teach English, the school enrolled him in a course in signing. But Stokoe noticed something odd: among themselves, students signed differently from his classroom teacher. Stokoe had been taught a sort of gestural code, each movement of the hands representing a word in English. At the time, American
5、 Sign Language (ASL) was thought to be no more than a form of pidgin English(混杂英语 ). But Stokoe believed the “hand talk“ his students used looked richer. He wondered: Might deaf people actually have a genuine language? And could that language be unlike any other on Earth? It was 1955, when even deaf
6、 people dismissed their signing as “substandard“. Stokoes idea was academic heresy (异端邪说 ). It is 37 years later. Stokoe now devoting his time to writing and editing books and journals and to producing video materials on ASL and the deaf culture is having lunch at a cafe near the Gallaudet campus an
7、d explaining how he started a revolution. For decades educators fought his idea that signed languages are natural languages like English, French and Japanese. They assumed language must be based on speech, the modulation (调节 ) of sound. But sign language is based on the movement of hands, the modula
8、tion of space. “What I said,“ Stokoe explains, “is that language is not mouth stuff its brain stuff.“ 1 The study of sign language is thought to be （ A） a new way to look at the learning of language （ B） a challenge to traditional views on the nature of language （ C） an approach to simplifying the g
9、rammatical structure of a language （ D） an attempt to clarify misunderstanding about the origin of language 2 The present growing interest in sign language was stimulated by （ A） a famous scholar in the study of the human brain （ B） a leading specialist in the study of liberal arts （ C） an English t
10、eacher in a university for the deaf （ D） some senior experts in American Sign Language 3 According to Stokoe, sign language is _. （ A） a substandard language （ B） a genuine language （ C） an artificial language （ D） an international language 4 Most educators objected to Stokoes idea because they thou
11、ght _. （ A） sign language was not extensively used even by deaf people （ B） sign language was too artificial to be widely accepted （ C） a language should be easy to use and understand （ D） a language could only exist in the form of speech sounds 5 Stokoes argument is based on his belief that _. （ A）
12、 sign language is as efficient as any other language （ B） sign language is derived from natural language （ C） language is a system of meaningful codes （ D） language is a product of the brain 5 Learning how to write is like taking a course in public speaking. Id ask whether anyone in class had ever t
13、aken such a course. Generally a few hands would go up. “What did you learn in that course?“ Id ask. “Well, the main thing was learning how to face an audience. not to be inhibited (拘谨 ). not to be nervous.“ Exactly, when you take a course in public speaking nowadays, you dont hear much about grammar
14、 and vocabulary. Instead, youre taught how not to be afraid or embarrassed, how to speak without a prepared script, how to reach out to the live audience before you. Public speaking is a matter of overcoming your longstanding nervous inhibitions. The same is true of writing. The point of the whole t
15、hing is to overcome your nervous emotion, to break through the invisible barrier that separates you from the person wholl read what you wrote. You must learn to sit in front of your typewriter or dictating machine and reach out to the person at the other end of the line. Of course, in public speakin
16、g, with the audience right in front of you, the problem is easier. You can look at them and talk to them directly. In writing, youre alone. It needs an effort of your experience or imagination to take hold of that other person and talk to him or her. But that effort is necessary or at least its nece
17、ssary until youve reached the point when you quite naturally and unconsciously “talk on paper“. 6 The main task of a public speech course is to_. （ A） teach grammar and vocabulary （ B） teach how to write a script （ C） teach how to overcome nervousness （ D） teach live spoken-language expressions 7 Le
18、arning how to write is similar to learning how to speak in public in that the writer should_. （ A） overcome his or her nervousness in the first place （ B） take hold of a reader and talk to him or her before writing （ C） learn to use a typewriter or dictating machine （ D） talk to himself on paper 8 W
19、hat does the author compare writing and public speaking? （ A） Writing needs more experience and imagination than public speaking. （ B） Both writing and public speaking require great efforts. （ C） Writing is just as imaginative as public speaking. （ D） Writing is not as natural as public speaking. 9
20、Which of the following statements is true according to the passage? （ A） Few students feel the need to learn public speaking. （ B） Training is necessary before you can speak with a script. （ C） In public speaking, the audience and the speaker are separated by a barrier. （ D） Writing is just like mak
21、ing a public speech on paper. 10 This selection is mainly about_. （ A） the efforts involved in writing （ B） the similarities between writing and public speaking （ C） learning how to make a public speech （ D） learning how to talk on paper 10 People appear to be born to compute. The numerical skills o
22、f children develop so early and so inexorably (坚定地 ) that it is easy to imagine an internal clock of mathematical maturity guiding their growth. Not long after learning to walk and talk, they can set the table with impressive accuracy one plate, one knife, one spoon, one fork, for each of the five c
23、hairs. Soon they are capable of noting that they have placed five knives, five spoons, and five forks on the table and, a bit later, that this amounts to fifteen pieces of silverware. Having thus mastered addition, they move on to subtraction. It seems almost reasonable to expect that if a child wer
24、e secluded on a desert island at birth and retrieved seven years later, he or she could enter a second-grade mathematics class without any serious problems of intellectual adjustment. Of course, the truth is not so simple. In this century, the work of cognitive psychologists has illuminated the subt
25、le forms of daily learning on which intellectual progress depends. Children were observed as they slowly grasped or, as the case might be, bumped into concepts that adults take for granted, as they refused, for instance, to concede that quantity is unchanged as water pours from a short stout glass i
26、nto a tall thin one. Psychologists have since demonstrated that young children, when asked to count the pencils in a pile, readily report the number of blue or red pencils, but must be coaxed (说服 ) into finding the total. Such studies have suggested that the rudiments (基本原理 ) of mathematics are mast
27、ered gradually, and with effort. They have also suggested that the very concept of abstract numbers the idea of a oneness, a twoness, a threeness that applies to any class of objects and is prerequisite (先决条件 ) for doing anything more mathematically demanding than setting a table is itself far from
28、innate. 11 After children have helped to set the table with impressive accuracy, they _ （ A） are able to help parents serve dishes （ B） tend to do more complicated housework （ C） are able to figure out the total pieces （ D） can enter a second-grade mathematics class 12 It is_to believe that the quan
29、tity of water keeps unchanged when it is contained in two different glasses. （ A） easy to persuade children （ B） hard for most children （ C） the innate of most children （ D） difficult for both adults and children 13 It can be inferred from the passage that children are likely to_ when they are asked
30、 to count all the balls of different colors. （ A） give the accurate answer （ B） count the balls of each color （ C） be too confused to do anything （ D） make minor mistakes 14 According to this passage, _ is mastered by birth. （ A） the ability to survive in a desert island （ B） the way of setting tabl
31、es （ C） the basic principles of mathematics （ D） the concept of oneness 15 Whats the authors attitude towards “childrens numerical skills“? （ A） Critical. （ B） Approving. （ C） Questioning. （ D） Objective. 15 Teenage boys, regardless of race, are more likely to die from gunshot wounds than from all n
32、atural causes combined. By the time the average American child leaves elementary school, he or she will witness 8,000 murders and more than 100,000 acts of violence on television. Youth are becoming involved in violence at an alarming rate. In fact, the youth arrest rate for murder doubled, from 6 a
33、rrests per 100,000 youth age 10 to 17 to over 12 per 100,000. The American Psychological Association Commission on Violence and Youth reported on a study of first and second graders in Washington D.C.: 45% said they had witnessed muggings (行凶抢劫 ), 31% said they had witnessed shootings, and 39% said
34、they had seen dead bodies. For the many youth who have not been directly exposed to violence in their own communities, the entertainment media(television, movies, music and video games, provides many opportunities for children to see and hear violent exchanges. Research shows that there are about 5-
35、6 violent acts per hour on prime time and 20-25 violent acts on Saturday morning childrens programming. In its report, Psychology and You: Violence on Television, the American Psychological Association (APA) reported that viewing violence on television hurts children in many ways. In particular, the
36、 APA concludes that children may become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others, be more fearful of the world around them, be more likely to behave in aggressive or harmful ways toward others, and gradually accept violence as a way to solve problems. The American Academy of Child and Adol
37、escent Psychiatry also cautions that children may imitate the violence they observe on television. Another form of violence involving youth is physical punishment in the schools. This form of discipline still remains legally supported in 23 of our nations states. The Office for Civil Rights in the D
38、epartment of Education reported that 555,000 students were physically punished in the schools during this school year. Although such punishment has been regarded as an effective method of discipline by those who apply it, the findings are obvious that physical punishment does not work and that child
39、ren who are victims of physical punishment are subject to potential long-term physical and emotional damage. 16 According to the passage, the American teenage boys lives are most threatened by （ A） gun murders （ B） natural diseases （ C） TV violence （ D） physical punishment 17 The author tends to use
40、 the fourth paragraph to support the idea that _. （ A） many youth have watched much violence on TV （ B） youth violence in Washington D.C.is very serious （ C） fights may be the most widely-seen youth violence （ D） American youth have been exposed to much violence 18 The APA indicates that too much TV
41、 violence may change children _. （ A） to become isolated from the world （ B） to remain indifferent to others pain （ C） to solve problems only by violence （ D） to be fearful of aggressive behaviors 19 The passage does NOT discuss that many youth become victims of_. （ A） murders （ B） family violence （
42、 C） TV violence （ D） school violence 20 The author may most probably agree that physical punishment is _. （ A） acceptable, though ineffective （ B） illegal, though effective （ C） harmful, though legal （ D） reasonable, though harmful 大学英语四级（阅读）模拟试卷 56答案与解析 Section B Directions: There are 2 passages in
43、 this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. You should decide on the best choice. 【知识模块】 阅读 1 【正确答案】 B 【试题解析】 从文章第 3句 “手语提供了一种新方法，用以探索大脑如何产生和理解语言，并为一个长期以来的科学争端 语言 (连同语法 )究竟是我们与生俱来的，还是一种我们后天学会的行为 提出了
44、新的解释 ”可以看出，这是对语言的性质的传统观点的挑战，即 B。 A错在 learning，文章 并不是在讨论语言的学习，而是语言的产生和理解： C为简单原词干扰； D中的 an attempt to clarify misunderstanding是对 throw new light on an old scientific controversy曲解，因为controversy不等 misunderstanding。另外，第 1段最后一句中的 rebel“反叛 ”一词也与 B中的 “挑战 ”一致。 【知识模块】 阅读 2 【正确答案】 C 【试题解析】 根据第 1段最后一句可知，选 C。题
45、干中的 was stimulated相当于原文中的 has roots in。 【知识模块】 阅读 3 【正确答案】 B 【试题解析】 根据第 3段第 24句以及最后一段第 3句，可知 B为答案。前者提出猜想 (Might deaf people actually have a genuine language?)，后者含有一个同位语 his idea that signed languages are natural languages。 【知识模块】 阅读 4 【正确答案】 D 【试题解析】 根据最后一段 第 4句，可知 D正确。 D中的 only exist in the form of
46、 speech sounds是对原文中 be based on speech的同义表达。 【知识模块】 阅读 5 【正确答案】 D 【试题解析】 根据文章最后一句，可知 D正确。 D中的 a product of the brain是对原文 brain stuff的同义表达。 B中的 derived from错误。因为 Stokoe认为 sign language就是一种 natural language。 【知识模块】 阅读 【知识模块】 阅读 6 【正确答案】 C 【试题解析】 事实细节题。原文第 4段，特别是第 4段的最后一句表明 C为正确选项。本题稍具干扰性的是 D，该选项中的 liv
47、e一词在第 4段第 2句末尾也有出现，但事实上 D与该句的意思不相同。 【知识模块】 阅读 7 【正确答案】 A 【试题解析】 事实细节题。本题考查对比处。第 5段第 1句表明下一句就是演讲和写作的相似之处，而 A就是对该句的同义替换。其他选项并未按照题目的要求对比演讲与写作，只是说明了写作必须做的，因此都不正确。 【知识模块】 阅读 8 【正确答案】 A 【试题解析】 推理判断题。本题考查对比处。结尾段对比了演讲和写作的不同之处，第 1、 2句和第 3、 4句形成了内在的对比关系，由此可推断写作比演讲更需要经验和努力因此可确定 A正确，而 C不正确。虽然在这一段可找到 effort和natu
48、rally等词，但原文并没有从是否要付出同样多的努力 (B)或是否自然 (D)等方面对比演讲与写作，因此 B和 D也不正确。 【知识模块】 阅读 9 【正确答案】 D 【试题解析】 推理判断题。根据最后一句中的 “在纸上说话 ”，可推断作者 认为写作如在纸上作演讲一样，因此， D正确。 A中的 Few students与事实不符； B中的speak with a script在文中未有提及； C中的 separated by a barrier错误。 【知识模块】 阅读 10 【正确答案】 D 【试题解析】 主旨大意题。文章的开头句就是全文的主题句，作者在前四段说明如何演讲，从第 5段开始，作
49、者转向说明如何写作，文章的结尾句对开头句做出了呼应。作者之所以将演讲和写作过程做比较是为了让自己的观点更容易、更生动地被读者明白和接受，因此本文的中心内 容是围绕写作，而不是演讲。其余选项虽然文中都有提及，但只是各个具体的侧面内容，不能概括全文大意。 【知识模块】 阅读 【知识模块】 阅读 11 【正确答案】 C 【试题解析】 第 1段第 3句说的是题干内容，由第 4句 Soon 句中的 five knives等数字可知孩子会数数了，故可直接选出 C。 【知识模块】 阅读 12 【正确答案】 B 【试题解析】 第 2段第 3句中 they refusedto concede 中的 they指 children，对比题干与原文意思可知孩 子们是 “难以相信 (理解 )，故选 B。 【知识模块】 阅读 13 【正确答案】 B 【试题解析】 第 2段倒数第 3句。文章是以 pencils为例进行说明的，题目中换成了 balls，但是目的是相同的，都是为了表述儿童更愿意根据颜色的不同来数数，而不愿数总数，故 B正确。 A、 D都没有提到； C的说法过于绝对，与文章
