12月大學(xué)英語四級閱讀理解模擬題

1、12月大學(xué)英語四級閱讀理解模擬題Part II Reading Comprehension (35 minutes)Directions: There are 4 reading passages in this part. 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 and mark the co

2、rresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the center.Passage OneQuestions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.There is a difference between science and technology. Science is a method of answering theoretical questions; technology is a method of solving practical prob

3、lems. Science has to do with discovering the facts and relationships between observable phenomena in nature and with establishing theories that serve to organize these facts and relationships; technology has to do with tools, techniques, and procedures for implementing the finding of science.Another

4、 distinction between science and technology has to do with the progress in each.Progress in science excludes the human factor. Scientists, who seek to comprehend the universe and know the truth within the highest degree of accuracy and certainty, cannot pay attention to their own or other people'

5、;s likes or dislikes or to popular ideas about the fitness of things. What scientists discover may shock or anger people-as did Darwin's theory of evolution. But even an unpleasant truth is more than likely to be useful; besides, we have the choice of refusing to believe it! But hardly so with t

6、echnology; we do not have the choice of refusing to hear the sonic boom produced by a supersonic aircraft flying overhead; we do not have the option of refusing to breathe polluted air; and we do not have the option of living in a non-atomic age. Unlike science progress, technology must be measured

7、in terms of the human factor. The legitimate purpose of technology is to serve people in general, not merely some people; and future generations, not merely those who presently wish to gain advantage for themselves. Technology must be humanistic if it is to lead to a better world.21. The difference

8、between science and technology lies in that _.A) the former provides answers to theoretical questions while the latter to practical problemsB) the former seeks to comprehend the universe while the latter helps change the material worldC) the former aims to discover the inter-connections of facts and

9、 the rules that explain them while the latter, to discover new designs and ways of making the things we use in our daily lifeD) all of the above22. Which of the following may be representative of science?A) The improvement of people's life.B) The theory of people's life.C) Farming tools.D) M

10、ass production.23. According to the author, scientific theories _.A) must be strictly objectiveB) usually take into consideration people's likes and dislikesC) should conform to popular opinionsD) always appear in perfect and finished forms24. The author states that technology itself _.A) is res

11、ponsible for widespread pollution and resource exhaustionB) should serve those who wish to gain advantage for themselvesC) will lead to a better world if put to wise useD) will inevitably be for bad purpose25. The tone of the author in this passage is _.A) positiveB) negativeC) factualD) criticalPas

12、sage TwoQuestions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.Americans have always been ambivalent in their attitudes toward education. On the one hand, free and universal public education was seen as necessary in a democracy, for how else would citizens learn how to govern themselves in a responsi

13、ble way? On the other hand, America was always a country that offered financial opportunities for which education was not needed: on the road from rags to riches, schooling-beyond the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic-was an unnecessary detour.Even today, it is still possible for people to

14、achieve financial success without much education, but the number of situations in which this is possible is decreasing. In today's more complex world, the opportunities for financial success is closely related to the need for education, especially higher education.Our society is rapidly becoming

15、 one whose chief product is information, and dealing with this information requires more and more specialized education. In other words, we grow up learning more and more about fewer and fewer subjects.In the future, this trend is likely to continue. Tomorrow's world will be even more complex th

16、an today's world, and, to manage this complexity, even more specialized education will be needed.26. The topic treated in this passage is _.A) education in generalB) Americans' attitudesC) higher educationD) American education27. Americans' attitudes toward education have always been _.A

17、) certain B) contradictoryC) ambitious D) unclear28. Today, financial success is closely related to the need for _.A) higher education B) public educationC) responsible citizens D) learning the basics29. It can be inferred from the third paragraph that _.A) information is our only productB) educatio

18、n in the future will be specializedC) we are entering an age of informationD) we are living in an age of information30. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?A) The History of American Education.B) The Need for Specialized Education.C) The Future of the American Educational System

19、.D) Attitudes toward American Education.Passage ThreeQuestions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage.A growing world population and the discoveries of science may alter this pattern of distribution in the future. As men slowly learn to master diseases, control floods, prevent famines, and stop

20、 wars, fewer people die every year; and in consequence the population of the world is steadily increasing. In 1925 there were about 2,000 million people in the world; by the end of the century there may well be over 4,000 million.When numbers rise the extra mouths must be fed. New lands must be brou

21、ght under cultivation, or land already farmed made to yield larger crops. In some areas the accessible land is so intensively cultivated that it will be difficult to make it provide more food. In some areas the population is so dense that the land is parceled out in units too tiny to allow for much

22、improvement in farming methods. Were a large part of this farming population drawn off into industrial occupations, the land might be farmed much more productively by modern methods.There is now a race for science, technology, and industry to keep the output of food rising faster than the number of

23、people to be fed. New strains of crops are being developed which will thrive in unfavorable climates: there are now farms beyond the Arctic Circle in Siberia and North America; irrigation and dry-farming methods bring arid lands under the plough, dams hold back the waters of great rivers to ensure w

24、ater for the fields in all seasons and to provide electric power for new industries; industrial chemistry provides fertilizers to suit particular soils; aeroplanes spray crops to destroy locusts and many plant diseases. Every year some new means is devised to increase or to protect the food of the w

25、orld.31. The author says that the world population is growing because _.A) there are many rich valleys and fertile plainsB) the pattern of distribution is being alteredC) people are living longerD) new land is being brought under cultivation32. The author says that in densely populated areas the lan

26、d might be more productively farmed if _.A) the plots were subdividedB) a large part of the people moved to a different part of the countryC) industrial methods were used in farmingD) the units of land were made much larger33. We are told that there are now farms beyond the Arctic Circle. This has b

27、een made possible by _.A) producing new strains of cropsB) irrigation and dry-farming methodsC) providing fertilizersD) destroying pests and disease34. Which of these words is nearest in meaning to the word "strains"?A) types B) sizesC) seeds D) harvests35. The author's main purpose is

28、 to _.A) argue for a belief B) describe a phenomenonC) entertain D) propose a conclusionPassage FourQuestions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage.For some time past it has been widely accepted that babies-and other creatures-learn to do things because certain acts lead to "rewards"

29、 and there is no reason to doubt that this is true. But it used also to be widely believed that effective rewards, at least in the early stages, had to be directly related to such basic physiological(生理的) "drives" as thirst or hunger. In other words, a baby would learn if he got food or dr

30、ink or some sort of physical comfort, not otherwise.It is now clear that this is not so. Babies will learn to behave in ways that produce results in the world with no reward except the successful outcome.Papousek began his studies by using milk in the normal way to "reward" the babies and

31、so teach them to carry out some simple movements, such as turning the head to one side or the other. Then he noticed that a baby who had had enough to drink would refuse the milk but would still go on making the learned response with clear signs of pleasure. So he began to study the children's r

32、esponses in situations where no milk was provided. He quickly found that children as young as four months would learn to turn their heads to right or left if the movement "switched on" a display of lights-and indeed that they were capable of learning quite complex turns to bring about this

33、 result, for instance, two left or two right, or even to make as many as three turns to one side.Papousek's light display was placed directly in front of the babies and he made the interesting observation that sometimes they would not turn back to watch the lights closely although they would &qu

34、ot;smile and bubble" when the display came on. Papousek concluded that it was not primarily the sight of the lights which pleased them, it was the success they were achieving in solving the problem, in mastering the skill, and that there exists a fundamental human urge to make sense of the world and bring it under intentional control.36. According to the author, babies learn to do things which .A) are directly related to pleasureB) will meet their physical needsC) will bring them a feel