1、大学英语四级（阅读）练习试卷 1及答案与解析 一、 Part II Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning) (15 minutes) Directions: In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions attached to the passage. For questions 1-7, mark： Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the infor
2、mation given in the passage; N (for NO) if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage. 0 How to Get a Great Idea The guests had arrived, and the wine was warm. Once again, Id forgotten to refrigerate it. “Dont wor
3、ry,“ a friend said, “I can chill it for you fight away.“ Five minutes later she emerged from the kitchen with the wine perfectly cooled. Asked to reveal her secret, she said, “Easy. I poured the wine in a plastic bag and then dipped it in ice water. After a few minutes the wine was cold. The hard pa
4、rt was getting it back into bottle. I couldnt find a funnel (漏斗 ), so I made a cone with wax paper.“ My guests applauded. “How wonderful if we could all be that clever,“ one remarked. A decade of research has convinced me we can. What separates the average person from Edison, Picasso or even Shakesp
5、eare isnt creative capacity-its the ability to use that capacity by encouraging creative impulses and then acting upon them. Most of us seldom achieve our creative potential. I think I know why, and I can help unlock the reservoir of ideas hiding within every one of us. One puzzle Ive watched studen
6、ts deal with is retrieving a Ping-Pong ball that has fallen to the bottom of a sealed, vertical drainpipe. The tools that they can use are either too short to reach the ball or too wide to fit into the pipe, which is also too narrow to reach into by hand. At last some students make the connection: d
7、rainpipe= water=floating. They pour water down the hole, and the ball floats to the top. This and many other experiments suggest concrete ways of increasing creativity in all of us. Here are the best techniques. Capture the fleeting. A good idea is like a rabbit. It runs by so fast that sometimes yo
8、u see only its ears or tail. To capture it, you must be ready. Creative people are always ready to act, and that may ha the only difference between us and them. Poet Amy Lowell wrote of the urgency with which she captured new ideas, “Whatever 1 am doing, I lay it aside and attend to the arriving poe
9、m,“ she wrote. Like many other writers, Lowell sought paper and pencil when she saw a good idea coming. I enter new ideas into a pocket computer. Anything-even a napkin-win do. In a letter to a friend in 1821, Ludwig van Beethoven talked about how he thought of a beautiful tune while dozing in carri
10、age. “But scarcely did I awake when away flew the tune,“ he wrote, “and I could not recall any part of it. Fortunately-for Beethoven and for us-the next day in the same carriage, the tune came back to him, and this time he captured it in writing. When a good idea comes your way, write it down-on you
11、r arm if necessary. Not every idea will have value, of course. The point is to capture first and evaluate them later. Daydream. Surrealist Dali used to lie on a sofa, holding a spoon. Just as he began to fall asleep. Dali would drop the spoon onto a plate on the floor. The sound shocked him awake, a
12、nd he would immediately sketch the images he had seen in his mind in that fertile world of semi-sleep. Everyone experiences this strange state, and everyone can take advantage of it. Try Dalis trick, or just allow yourself to daydream. For many, the “three bs“-bed, bath and bus-are productive. There
13、, and anywhere else you can be with your thoughts undisturbed, youll find that ideas emerging freely. Seek challenges. When youre stuck behind a locked door, every behavior thats ever gotten you free turns up quickly: you may push or pull on the knob, bang the door-even shout for help. Scientists ca
14、ll the rehappening of old behaviors in a challenging situation resurgence. The more behaviors that reappear, the greater the number of possible interconnections, and the more likely that new ideas will occur. Try inviting friends and business associations from different areas of your life to a party
15、. Bring people of two or three generations together. This will get you thinking in new ways. Edwin Land, one of Americas most prolific inventors, said that the idea that led to his invention of the Polaroid camera came from his three-year-old daughter. On a visit to Santa Fe in 1943, she asked why s
16、he couldnt see the picture he had just taken. During the next hour, as Land walked around Santa Fe, all he had learned about chemistry came together, with amazing results. Said Land, “The camera and the film became clear to me. In my mind they were so real that I spent several hours describing them.
17、“ Put new and crazy items-like kids toys-on your desk. Turn pictures upside down or sideways. The more detersive the stimulations we receive, the more rapidly the mind produces new ideas. Expand your world. Many discoveries in sciences, engineering and the arts mix ideas from different fields. Consi
18、der “The Two-String Problem“. Two widely separated strings hang from a ceiling. Even though you cant reach both at once, is it possible to tie their ends together, using only a pair of pliers? One college student found the solution almost immediately. He tied the pliers to one string and set it in m
19、otion like a pendulum (钟摆 ). As it swung back and forth, he walked quickly to the other string and drew it as far forward as it would reach. Then he caught the swinging string when it passed near him and tied the two ends. Asked how he had solved the problem, the student explained he had just come f
20、rom a physics class on pendulum motion. What he had learned in one context transferred to a completely different one. This principle works outside the lab as well. To enhance your creativity, learn something new. If youre a banker, take up tap dancing. If youre a nurse, try a course in mythology. Re
21、ad a book on a subject you know little about. Change your daily newspaper. The new will interconnect with the old in novel and potentially fascinating ways. Becoming more creative is really just a matter of paying attention to that endless flow of ideas you produce, and learning to capture and act u
22、pon the new thats within you. 1 The author believes that those who have creative capacity are usually great figures. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 2 The example of the students getting the Ping-Pong ball proves that students are more creative than average people. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 3 The examples of Amy
23、Lowell and Beethoven tell us that we should write down a good idea immediately as it may easily disappear. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 4 Daydreaming can be a good way of realizing ones creative potential. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 5 People facing challenges are unlikely to achieve creative ideas. （ A） Y （ B）
24、N （ C） NG 6 Salvador Dali is a famous surrealist painter, whose works are highly controversial from the modernism or even post-modernism perspective. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 7 To enhance creativity, people should always learn something new. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 8 The success of Edison, Picasso or eve
25、n Shakespeare lies on their ability to rather than mere creative capacity. 9 The author believes that many discoveries in science, engineering and the arts mix ideas from _. 10 Learn to be more creative is just a matter of focusing on the endless flow of ideas you produce, and learning to _ the new
26、thats within you. 10 A Cooler Planet Scientists are cooking up solutions based on current technology that they say they could dramatically turn down the heat of global warming over the next 50 years. Innovations such as cheaper wind power, gas-electric hybrid and gas cards that generate funds for cl
27、imate-change projects already are available. Introducing them across the nation could put a dent in the growth of greenhouse gases that are warming the planet, scientists say. The concentration of carbon dioxide-a potent greenhouse gas-is likely to double before the end of the century, the United St
28、ates says. Scientists say further warming is inevitable as greenhouse gas emissions climb but that the worse effects can still be avoided. “The question now is not whether to adapt? but how to adapt?“ says a 2004 U.N. report on climate change. The solutions, says experts, must come from action by po
29、liticians, business people, scientists and individuals. Over the next century, power could be derived from sources that release less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere such as nuclear fusion, hydrogen fuel cells and more efficient combustion engines(内燃机 ). Scientists: Technology already exists Techn
30、ology is a crucial component to meeting the challenge of global warming, say climate researchers and policy experts. “You need technology;“ says Elliot Diringer, international strategies director with the Pew Center on Global Climate Change. “Theres no question about that. The question is, What is t
31、he most efficient way to not only generate the technology but get it deployed.“ The intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a U.N. body issuing regular assessments on the climate, says innovation has advanced faster than expected. It estimates technological improvements could reduce greenhouse ga
32、s emissions below 2,000 levels within 20 years and avert even more risky levels of such concentrations. The IPCC has estimated that technological improvements could sometime between 2010 and 2020 reduce greenhouse gas emissions to levels below those in the year 2000. “We need to move as fast as we c
33、an,“ Diringer says. “The longer we wait to take concerted action, the greater the impact will be. the more it will cost to achieve the reduction.“ Technology with the greatest potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions already exists, says Princeton University scientists Stephen Pacala and Robert
34、Socolow in a 2004 study published in the journal Science. Improving efficiency and conservations could reduce billions of tons in atmospheric emissions of greenhouse gases each year. Improvements such as efficient engineering, better gas mileage(英里里程 ) and new fuel sources for vehicle and power plan
35、ts have the potential to halt growth of emissions by around 2050, according to the study. “It is important not to become diverted by the possibility of revolutionary technology,“ the Princeton authors write in Science. “Humanity can solve the carbon and climate problem in the first half of this cent
36、ury simply by increasing we already know how to do.“ The scientists picked seven actions that they say could make the climate stable by 2054. They focused on technology already in place that simply needs to be expanded- a lot. Cars are an easy target. Each gallon (加仑 ) of gas burned gives off about
37、20 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Thats a lot of carbon for the 2 billion cars that may be on the road in 2054, nearly four times the number today, the authors report. The Science article suggests that doubling the average fuel efficie
38、ncy of cars from 30 miles per gallon today to 60, switching to wind-generated hydrogen fuels or halving the annual number of miles traveled per car to 5,000 could reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The savings would provide one-seventh of the total cuts needed to make U.S. emissions stable, the articl
39、e states. In addition, scientists are watching plenty of other technologies being developed to make emissions stable. Carbon storage Burying carbon dioxide allows fossil fuel companies to continue pumping oil while reducing greenhouse emissions. The United Nations estimates by 2050 it should be poss
40、ible to store half of the increasing global emissions in underground reservoirs (水库 ) at reasonable prices. The U.S. government already has started a test project at a West Virginia coal power plant. The energy company BP sends 1 million tons of carbon dioxide each year beneath the sands of Sahara d
41、esert at one of its facilities in Algeria. These carbon-reducing projects send millions of tons of carbon dioxide gas into underground geologic formations such as gas beds now filled with water, natural gas or oil. The risks of such techniques include leakage of carbon dioxide from underground reser
42、voirs that may endanger human life and environment. Scientists are studying techniques to find which rock formations permanently store gases such as carbon dioxide. Renewable energy Renewable power is a major facet of reducing global warming emissions, according to the United Nations. Because most r
43、enewable energy sources-wind, ocean tides, solar, biomass fuel-emit less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than they absorb, they do not add to climate change. The share of renewable in the world energy supply accounts for at least 14 percent of the total, the United Nations estimates. The price of
44、 these renewable fuels and technology is plummeting as demand grows and hardware improves. “Green“ tariffs, already introduced in some European countries, guarantee premium prices for energy derived from renewable sources. States such as New York and California also require utilities to generate a f
45、raction of their energy supply from renewable. Trading carbon Carbon emissions trading is designed to make global warming prevention affordable, according to the U.N. Convention on Climate Change. Under the Kyoto Agreement, participating countries agree to emit a certain amount of carbon. If a count
46、ry cannot afford to meet its carbon emissions limit, it can buy “credits“ from a country that has produced less than its allotted amount. Although critics say there are significant problems under the Kyoto system, the United Nations says emissions trading allows countries gradually to eliminate carb
47、on dioxide while preventing some economic hardships of reducing emissions growth. Corporate action Companies also an: devising ways for business and individuals to offset greenhouse emissions. Oregon-based Climate Neutral Network says it soon will offer air travelers access to “Cool Class“ air trave
48、l in which a portion of airline fares, negotiated through contracts with different companies, are invested in ways to reduce greenhouse emissions. 11 Scientists have found various kinds of methods to solve the problem of global warming. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 12 We are not able to prevent the bad eff
49、ects of the global warming. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 13 Politicians, business people as well as scientists and individuals should join together to seek solutions to climate change. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 14 It is still in question how to make use of the already existed technology efficiently. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 15 The cost to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions is in proportion to the time spent before we take an action. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 16 The Environmental Protection Agency states t
