1、2010 年 9 月国家公共英语（四级）真题试卷（无答案）一、Section II Use of English (15 minutes)Directions: Read the following text. Choose the best word for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on ANSWER SHEET 1. 0 In 1942, the HMS Edinburgh was sunk in the Barents Sea. It was on its【 21】_back to Britain with ninety-one
2、 boxes of Russian gold.【22】_thirty-nine years it lay there, too deep for divers to【23】. No one was allowed to explode it, either, since the bodies of sixty of the crew also lay in the【24】_. Then, in 1981, an ex-diver called Jessop decided to try using new diving techniques.【25】_he could not afford t
3、o finance the【26】_which was going to cost four million pounds, he had to look for people who were【27】_to take the risk.【28】_, they were not even sure the gold was going to be there! First a Scottish diving company, then a German shipping company agreed to join in the retrieval【29】_. Not long after t
4、hat, Jessop【30】_a fourth company to take a【31】_.Since the gold was the 【32】_of the British and the Soviet governments, they both hoped to make a【33】_, too! The biggest problem was how to get【34】_the gold. Fortunately, they were able to examine the Edinburghs sister ship, the HMS Belfast, to【35】_out
5、the exact location of the bomb room, 【36】_the gold was stored.They knew it was to be an extremely difficult and dangerous undertaking. To reach the gold, they would have to cut a large square【37】_the body of the ship, go through the empty fuel tank and down to the bomb room. After twenty-eight dives
6、, they【38】_to find the first bar. Everyone worked【39】_the clock, helping to clean and stack the gold, 【40】_as to finish the job as quickly as possible.1 【21】（A）road（B） path（C） way（D）passage2 【22】（A）During（B） For（C） At（D）Since3 【23】（A）find（B） discover（C） dive（D）reach4 【24】（A）wreck（B） ruin（C） relic（D）
7、waste5 【25】（A）Although（B） Unless（C） As（D）If6 【26】（A）research（B） operation（C） movement（D）search7 【27】（A）willing（B） luckly（C） committed（D）engaged8 【28】（A）All in all（B） In addition（C） In case（D）After all9 【29】（A）assignment（B） temptation（C） attempt（D）commission10 【30】（A）introduced（B） persuaded（C） associ
8、ated（D）stimulated11 【31】（A）chance（B） look（C） measure（D）choice12 【32】（A）business（B） estate（C） obligation（D）property13 【33】（A）profit（B） benefit（C） success（D）welfare14 【34】（A）about（B） around（C） to（D）from15 【35】（A）get（B） take（C） work（D）try16 【36】（A）which（B） where（C） here（D）there17 【37】（A）on（B） in（C） amo
9、ng（D）along18 【38】（A）managed（B） achieved（C） succeeded（D）fulfilled19 【39】（A）before（B） by（C） with（D）round20 【40】（A）that（B） much（C） far（D）soPart BDirections: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D . Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. 20 Competition
10、 for admission to the countrys top private schools has always been tough, but this year Elisabeth realized it had reached a new level. Her wake-up call came when a man called the Dalton School in Manhattan, where Elisabeth is admissions director, and inquired about the age cutoff for their kindergar
11、ten program. After providing the information, she asked about the age of his child. The man paused for an uncomfortably long time before answering. “Well, we dont have a child yet. Were trying to figure out when to conceive a child so the birthday is not a problem. “Worries are spreading from Manhat
12、tan to the rest of the country. Precise current data on private schools are unavailable, but interviews with representatives of independent schools all told the same story:an oversupply of applicants, higher rejection rates. “We have people calling us for spots two years down the road, “said Marilyn
13、 of the Seven Hills School in Cincinnati. “We have grandparents calling for pregnant daughters. “ Public opinion polls indicate that Americans No. 1 concern is education. Now that the long economic boom has given parents more disposable income, many are turning to private schools, even at price tags
14、 of well over $ 10,000 a year. “Were getting applicants from a broader area geographically than we ever have in the past,“ said Betsy of the Latin School of Chicago, which experienced a 20 percent increase in applications this year.The problem for the applicants is that while demand has increased, s
15、upply has not. “ Every year,there are a few children who do not find places, but this year, for the first time that I know of, there are a significant number without places,“ said Elisabeth.So what can parents do to give their 4-year-old an edge? Schools know there is no easy way to pick a class whe
16、n children are so young. Many schools give preference to children of their graduates. Some make the choice by drawing lots. But most rely on a mix of subjective and objective measures: tests that at best identify developmental maturity and cognitive potential, interviews with parents and observation
17、 of applicants in classroom settings. They also want a diverse mix. Children may end up on a waiting list simply because their birthdays fall at the wrong time of year, or because too many applicants were boys.The worst thing a patent can do is to pressure preschoolers to performfor example, by push
18、ing them to read or do math exercises before theyre ready. Instead, the experts say, parents should take a breath and look for alternatives. Another year in preschool may be all thats needed.21 From this text we learn that it is（A）harder to make a choice between public and private schools.（B） harder
19、 to go to private schools this year than before.（C） more difficult to go to public schools than to private schools.（D）as difficult to go to private schools this year as before.22 The sentence“We have people. down the road“ (Line 4, Paragraph 2)probably means（A）we have people calling us for parking s
20、pace two years ahead of time.（B） people called us for permission to use the places two years ago.（C） we received calls from people down the road two years ago.（D）people called us for school vacancies two years in advance.23 The text indicates that private schools are very selective because they（A）ha
21、ve no reliable methods to pick students for a class.（B） want a good mixture of boys and girls for classes.（C） encounter more demand than they can cope with.（D）prefer to enroll children of their relatives.24 From the text, we can infer that the author（A）favors the idea of putting children on a waitin
22、g list.（B） agrees to test preschoolers cognitive potentials.（C） thinks children should be better prepared academically（D）disapproves of the undue pressure on preschoolers.25 Which of the following can serve as a title of this text?（A）Hard Time for the Preschoolers（B） Prosperity of Private Schools（C）
23、 The Problem for Public Schools（D）Americanss No 1 Concern25 William Shakespeare described old age as“second childishness“no teeth, no eyes, no taste. In the case of taste he may, musically speaking, have been more perceptive than he realised. A paper in Neurology by Giovanni Frisoni and his colleagu
24、es at the National Centre for Research and Care of Alzheimerss Disease in Italy, shows that frontotemporal dementia can affect musical desires in ways that suggest a regression,if not to infancy,then at least to a patients teens.Frontotemporal dementia, a disease usually found with old people, is ca
25、used, as its name suggests,by damage to the front and sides of the brain. These regions are concerned with speech, and with such“ higher“ functions as abstract thinking and judgment.Two of such patients intrigued Dr Frisoni. One was a 68-year-old lawyer, the other a 73-year-old housewife. Both had u
26、ndamaged memories, but displayed the sorts of defect associated with frontotemporal dementiaa diagnosis that was confirmed by brain scanning.About two years after he was first diagnosed, the lawyer, once a classical music lover who referred to pop music as“ mere noise“ , started listening to the Ita
27、lian pop band “883“. As his command of language and his emotional attachments to friends and family deteriorated, he continued to listen to the band at full volume for many hours a day. The housewife had not even had the lawyers love of classical music, having never enjoyed music of any sort in the
28、past. But about a year after her diagnosis she became very interested in the songs that her 11-year-old granddaughter was listening to.This kind of change in musical taste was not seen in any of the Alzheimers patients, and thus appears to be specific to those with frontotemporal dementia. And other
29、 studies have remarked on how frontotemporal-dementia patients sometimes gain new talents. Five sufferers who developed artistic abilities are known. And in another case, one woman with the disease suddenly started composing and singing country and western songs.Dr Frisoni speculates that the illnes
30、s is causing people to develop a new attitude towards novel experiences, Previous studies of novelty-seeking behaviour suggest that it is managed by the brains right frontal lobe. A predominance of the right over the left frontal lobe, caused by damage to the latter, might thus lead to a quest for n
31、ew experience. Alternatively, the damage may have affected some specific nervous system that is needed to appreciate certain kinds of music. Whether that is a gain or a loss is a different matter. As Dr Frisoni puts it in his article, there is no accounting for taste.26 The writer quotes Shakespeare
32、 mainly to（A）praise the keen perception of the great English writer.（B） support Dr. Frisonis theory about a disease.（C） start the discussion on a brain disease.（D）show the long history of the disease.27 The word “regression“ in the 1st paragraph is best replaced by（A）backward movement.（B） uncontroll
33、ed inclination.（C） rapid advancement.（D）unexpected restoration.28 After contracting frontotemporal dementia, the 68-year-old lawyer（A）became more dependent on his family.（B） grew fond of classical music.（C） recovered from language incompetence.（D）enjoyed loud Italian popular music.29 Frontotemporal
34、dementia is a disease（A）identified with loss of memory.（B） causing damage to certain parts of the brain.（C） whose patients may develop new talents.（D）whose symptoms are similar to those of Alzheimers patients.30 Dr Frisoni attributed the patients changing music taste to（A）mans desire to seek novel e
35、xperience.（B） the damage to the left part of the brain.（C） the shift of predominance from the right lobe to the left.（D）the weakening of some part of the nervous system.30 Whos to blame? The trail of responsibility goes beyond poor maintenance of British railways, say industry critics. Stingy govern
36、mentsboth Labor and Toryhave cut down on investments in trains and rails. In the mid-1990s a Conservative government pushed through the sale of the entire subsidy-guzzling rail network. Operating franchises were parceled out among private companies and a separate firm, Railtrack, was awarded ownersh
37、ip of the tracks and stations. In the future, the theory ran back then, the private sector could pay for any improvementswith a little help from the stateand take the blame for any failings.Today surveys show that travelers believe privatization is one of the reasons for the railwayss failures. They
38、 ask whether the pursuit of profits is compatible with guaranteeing safety. Worse, splitting the network between companies has made coordination nearly impossible. “The railway was torn apart at privatization and the structure that was put in place was. . . designed, if we are honest, to maximize th
39、e proceeds to the Treasury,“ said Railtrack boss Gerald Corbett before resigning last month in the wake of the Hatfield crash.Generally, the contrasts with mainland Europe are stark. Over the past few decades the Germans, French and Italians have invested 50 percent more than the British in transpor
40、tation infrastructure. As a result, a web of high-speed trains now crisscross the Continent, funded by governments willing to commit state funds to major capital projects. Spain is currently planning 1,000 miles of new highspeed track. In France superfast trains already shuttle between all major cit
41、ies, often on dedicated lines. And in Britain? When the Eurostar trains that link Paris, London and Brussels emerge from the Channel Tunnel onto British soil and join the crowded local network, they must slow down from 186 mph to a maximum of 100 mphand they usually have to go even slower.For once,
42、the government is listening. After all, commuters are voters, too. In a pre-vote spending spree, the government has committed itself to huge investment in transportation, as well as education and the public health service. Over the next 10 years, the railways should get an extra 60 billion, partly t
43、hrough higher subsidies to the private companies. As Blair ackoowledged last month, “Britain has been underinvested in and investment is central to Britains future. “ You dont have to tell the 3 million passengers who use the railways every day. Last week trains to Darlington were an hour lateand cr
44、awling at Locomotion No. 1 speeds.31 In the first paragraph, the author tries to（A）trace the tragedy to its defective origin.（B） remind people of Britains glorious past.（C） explain the failure of Britains rail network.（D）call for impartiality in assessing the situation.32 Travelers now believe that
45、the root cause for failures of British railway is（A）its structural design.（B） the pursuit of profit.（C） its inefficient network.（D）the lack of safety guarantees.33 According to Gerald Corbett, British railway is structured（A）for the benefit of commuters.（B） to the advantage of the government.（C） for
46、 the effect of better coordination.（D）as a replacement of the private system.34 Comparing British railway with those of Europe, the author thinks（A）trains in Britain can run at 100 mph at least.（B） Britain should build more express lines.（C） rails in Britain need further privatization.（D）British rai
47、lway is left a long way behind.35 What does the author think of Blairs acknowledgement?（A）Its too late to improve the situation quickly enough.（B） Its a welcomed declaration of commitment.（C） Blair should preach it to other travelers.（D）Empty words cant solve the problem.35 No man has been more hars
48、hly judged than Machiavelli, especially in the two centuries following his death. But he has since found many able champions and the tide has turned. The prince has been termed a manual for tyrants, the effect of which has been most harmful. But were Machiavellis doctrines really new? Did he discove
49、r them? He merely had the frankness and courage to write down what everybody was thinking and what everybody knew. He merely gives us the impressions he had received from a long and intimate intercourse with princes and the affairs of state. It was Lord Bacon who said that Machiavelli tells us what princes do, not what they ought to do. When Machiavelli takes Cassar Borgia as a model, he does not praise him as a hero at all, but merely as
