大学英语四级(2013年12月考试改革适用)模拟试卷168(题后含答案及解析)

大学英语四级（2013年12月考试改革适用）模拟试卷168(题后含答
案及解析)
题型有：1. Writing 2. Listening Comprehension 3. Reading Comprehension 4. Translation
Part I Writing
1．For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay entitled On College Students’Self-care Ability following the outline given below. You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words. Write your essay on Answer Sheet 1.1．目前不少高校学生的自理能力很差2．产生此种现象的原因是……3．为了提高学生的自理能力，应该……On College Students’ Self-care Ability 正确答案：On College Students’ Self-care Ability Nowadays in China, a problem that is quite prevalent a-mong college students is that many of them lack the ability to take care of themselves. For example, it is not uncommon that a college student takes a week’s dirty clothes back home and let the mother do the washing simply because he/she doesn’t know how to do it. Why is it so? In my opinion, the doting parents should first take the blame. As it is, many parents love their kids so much that they go to extremes to manage every little detail of their kids’lives, without realizing that they are depriving their kids of the opportunity to learn self-dependence. In addition, the students are also to be blame. Even though the family provides an important support and all the care, they should not take everything in their life for granted or even do not bother to learn some basic living skills. In short, to train students to be independent, we need parents to loosen their grip and students to take some responsibilities.
解析：这是一篇论说文，要求就“高校学生的自理能力”这个话题进行论述。

按照题目要求，全文可以安排如下：第一段提出现象：不少高校学生缺乏自理能力，并以部分学生将囤积一周的脏衣服带回家让母亲洗的例子为例。

第二段从两方面分析此种现象产生原因：一、父母过于溺爱，剥夺了孩子学习自立的机会；二、学生对父母的照顾过于想当然而疏于学习必要的生活技能。

第三段从两方面说明提高学生自理能力的方法：一、父母不应事无巨细，什么都包办；二、学生应有所承担。

Part II Listening Comprehension
Section A
听力原文： A court in the United States has ruled that the hamburger chain McDonald s was not responsible for the health problem of overweight children who eat at its restaurants. The judge said lawyers acting for the children had failed to show
that McDonald’s products presented a danger unknown to consumers. This is the first case of its kind to go through the American courts. The outcome is a victory for the fast food industry, which is ready for a wave of tobacco-style charges over the health consequences of poor diet. The action was mounted on behalf of a group of overweight children suffering from diabetes, high blood pressure and other diet-related diseases. They blamed their problems on the fatty hamburgers and chips they’d regularly eaten at McDonald’s restaurants in New York.1 Why did McDonald’s win the charge?2 What was the reason for the consumer to charge McDonald’s?
2．
A．Because those children could not prove they regularly ate there.
B．Because most of those children are healthy.
C．Because consumers knew the dangers of McDonald’s products.
D．Because some children are not really overweight.
正确答案：C
解析：新闻在开始公布了一项法院裁定的结果，即麦当劳不必对在麦当劳进食的超重儿童的健康问题负责。

随后说明原因：法官说，儿童方面的代表律师无法证明麦当劳产品对消费者是一种未知的危险。

也就是说法官认为消费者应该知道快餐食品的坏处，所以责任也不应该由快餐企业来承担，C项符合新闻报道的内容。

3．
A．McDonald’s food is not clean.
B．McDonald’s food price is too high.
C．McDonald’s food contains high fat.
D．McDonald’s environment is not safe.
正确答案：C
解析：新闻结尾指出，这起诉讼是代表一群肥胖儿童的。

“他们把自己的健康问题归咎于他们经常在纽约麦当劳餐厅所吃的高脂肪汉堡包和薯条。

”故C项正确。

听力原文：OPEC has decided this was not the time for cutting petroleum output. Energy ministers here didn’t have the stomach to cut back production at a time when crude oil prices were reaching historic highs on the international exchanges. It was feared that cuts in the output would send prices even higher and reduce global economic growth. While nobody here seems surprised about oil output levels’remaining the same, President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela managed to raise a few eyebrows among delegates when he held a highly politicized speech calling on OPEC to be an anti-imperialist organization. He went on to describe Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, the jailed Marxist fighter, as a good friend. Venezuelan-bom Ramirez, better known as Carlos the slave, led a terror attack against OPEC’s Vienna headquarters in 1975.3 What did OPEC decide to do?4 What was the purpose of Hugo Chavez’s speech?
4．
A．Raise the oil prize.
B．Cut back production.
C．Reduce global economic growth.
D．Remain the same level of output.
正确答案：D
解析：新闻中提到“……似乎没有人对石油产量保持不变而感到惊讶”，因此我们可以确定OPEC的决定是“保持不变的输出量”，故选D项。

5．
A．To cut petroleum output.
B．To fight against imperialism.
C．To help his good friend.
D．To promote the international exchanges.
正确答案：B
解析：新闻后半部分出现了一个焦点人物，即委内瑞拉总统Hugo Chavez，他发表了政治意味浓厚的演讲，号召石油输出国组织应该成为一个反对帝国主义的组织(be an anti-imperialist organization)，因此正确选项是B项。

听力原文：Four gunmen have been killed as the Indian military hindered a pre-dawn attack on an air force base near the border with Pakistan, officials say. Two soldiers at the Pathankot base were also killed in a gun battle lasting several hours. The base is on the main highway leading to Indian-administered Kashmir. The incident came days after the Indian and Pakistani leaders met in Lahore to launch a surprise peace initiative. The gunmen wore Indian military uniforms and drove a stolen car when they launched the attack at 3:30. They entered living quarters at the base, but were contained there and so were unable to cause any damage to military hardware, said air force spokeswoman Rochelle D’Silva. The BBC’s Sanjoy Majumder in Delhi says it is not yet clear who the attackers were but suspicion is already falling on Kashmiri militant groups based in Pakistan. India says the group is backed by Pakistan, but Islamabad denies this.5 What is the news report mainly about?6 How many people were killed in the attack?7 When did the attack occur?
6．
A．An attack launched by gunmen.
B．A peace initiative before the attack.
C．The damage to military hardware.
D．A militant groups based in Pakistan.
正确答案：A
解析：本题为主旨大意题，需要在理解大意的基础上，注意到一些细节，难度略大。

一般来说，新闻的首句会对全篇作一个概述，道出when、where、why 等要素。

新闻首句提到，在与Pakistan接壤的边境，一个空军基地在凌晨受到攻
击，印度军方在防御时击毙了4名枪手。

新闻后面的内容都是围绕这次攻击，故A项“枪手发起的一次攻击”是正确选项。

7．
A．4.
B．2.
C．6.
D．8.
正确答案：C
解析：文中共出现4和2这两个相关数字。

文章开头提到有4名持枪分子被击毙，2名士兵丧生，二者相加即可得出交战双方丧生的人数。

故答案是C项。

8．
A．At dusk.
B．At 3:30 am.
C．On Monday morning.
D．On Friday afternoon.
正确答案：B
解析：新闻中有直接提到攻击是在3：30发起(theylaunched the attack at 3：30)，而新闻首句则提到这是一个a pre-dawn attack，即发生在黎明前，结合两者可知B项正确。

Section B
听力原文：W: Oh, Steve, you’re early! I’m happy you’re here early today because I’d like to discuss your attendance for a moment. M: Gee, Dr. Olivia, I’m really sorry about missing class yesterday. W: Actually, it’s been several days. Counting today, we’ve only had 6 classes, yet you’ve already missed 4. It’s more than a half. You won’t be able to pass if you’re constantly absent. And I really don’t want to fail anyone. M: Sorry, I’ve been extremely busy. I can explain for it, Dr. Olivia. I have a part-time job, so... W: Well, I hope you’re ready for today’s exam. M: Today? I thought it was Monday! W: Read the schedule, Steve: this is precisely what I’m talking about. You should either make an effort to attend, or you should consider withdrawing while it’s still possible. M: What do you mean?W: Today’s the final day you can withdraw and get a full refund. M: Maybe I really should. What do you suggest? W: I wish you could attend classes regularly: however, if you don’t believe you’re capable of this, then don’t waste your money. M: Thanks, Dr. Olivia I really appreciate your advice. If it’s okay, I suppose I’ll go ahead and drop the class. W: It’s entirely up to you, but that might be best if you don’t think things are going to change. Excuse me, the students are coming, and I’ve got to get ready for class. I wish you the very best of luck, Steve. M: Thank you, Dr. Olivia.8 What is the man’s problem?9 What is the man’s excuse for being absent from class?10 What does the woman say
about today?11 What does the man decide to do at last?
9．
A．He is late for classes too often.
B．He has missed too many classes.
C．He has failed in the exam again.
D．He is a trouble-maker at school.
正确答案：B
解析：女士开头就说要和男士谈谈他的出勤情况，并指出一共有6节课，男士缺了4节，并警告他说，如果连续缺课他考试就不能及格，故选B。

10．
A．He has a part-time job.
B．He often oversleeps.
C．He isn’t ready for class.
D．He is busy preparing exams.
正确答案：A
解析：女士说男士经常缺课，男士解释说他一直都很忙，他要做兼职，可见男士缺课的借口是他做兼职，故选A。

11．
A．Students are going to take the final exam today.
B．It’s the last day Steve can drop the class with a full refund
C．Students have to hand in their reports today.
D．It’s the final day Steve can apply for a loan.
正确答案：B
解析：女士告诉男士，他可以退选课程并获得全额退款，今天已是最后一天，故选B。

12．
A．Drop the class.
B．Make up the missed lessons.
C．Stop taking part-time job.
D．Transfer to another school.
正确答案：A
解析：听了女士的解释之后，男士说他要去把课程退掉，故选A。

听力原文：W: Mr. Hiller, is the number of complaints increasing or decreasing?M: There was a slight decrease last year. The highest number of complaints was two years ago when we received 7,300. W: Does the reduction mean that the quality of goods and services is improving?M: I don’t think so. It’s probably
due to the poor economic situation Most people are simply buying less. W: Is there any change in the nature of the complaints? M: Not really. People are still complaining about the same things. W: What do they complain about most often? M: Electrical appliances. Last year, we received 1,809 complaints about them—25 percent of all complaints. Then there are complaints about travel agencies, photographic and sound equipment, and clothing—in that order. W: What sort of complaints do you get about travel agencies? M: Oh, they include anything from air tickets to accommodation. W: Are most of the complaints justified? M: About 90 per cent of the complaints about travel agencies are justified. In other areas, investigation of about 50 per cent of the complaints reveals some kind of business malpractice, but overall about 30 per cent of the complaints are due to misunderstandings on the part of the consumer: the rest are too vague to be worth following up. W: How long does it take you to complete an investigation of a complaint? M: About two to three weeks for a proper investigation. We really need more staff. W: Thank you, Mr. Hiller. M: My pleasure.12 Why did the number of complaints decrease last year according to the man?13 What do customers complain about most often?14 What does the man say about complaints about travel agency?15 How long does it take the man to complete an investigation of a complaint?
13．
A．The quality of goods and services has improved.
B．Most people are reducing their consumption.
C．Complaint channels are too limited.
D．Many people don’t bother to complain.
正确答案：B
解析：女士问投诉减少是否意味着产品和服务质量已经改善，男士回答说自己不这么认为。

很可能是因为经济形势欠佳，大部分人买的东西少了。

故选B。

14．
A．Electrical appliances.
B．Travel agencies.
C．Photographic and sound equipment.
D．Clothing.
正确答案：A
解析：女士问客户投诉最多的是什么，男士直接回答说是电器，故选A。

15．
A．They account for the largest proportion.
B．90 per cent of them are reasonable.
C．Most of them are for delayed air tickets.
D．Few of them are for poor accommodation.
正确答案：B
解析：在谈到对旅行社的投诉时，女士问男士是否绝大部分投诉都合理。

男士回答说90％都是合理的，reasonable是justified的同义转换，故选B。

16．
A．Two weeks.
B．Less than two weeks.
C．Two to three weeks.
D．More than three weeks.
正确答案：C
解析：女士问要完成一项投诉调查需要多长时间，男士回答说需要两到三周，故选C。

Section C
听力原文：For years it has been possible to set up cameras to take pictures of cars as they speed along highways, jump lights or drive too fast down the street. However, even if the pictures are taken automatically, someone still has to do all the paperwork of issuing fines. But now a British company called EEV has come up with a computerized video system that can do it all automatically. They suggest that all number plates have a bar code as well as the usual number. The bar codes are just stripes of lines like those you see on food packets but bigger. EEV’s high speed video camera system can read a bar-coded number plate even if the car is doing over 100 miles per hour. The computer controlling the system could then use the information from the bar code to find out the name and address of the driver from the car records, print out the fine and send it off automatically. The inventors also suggest that the system could watch traffic to help catch stolen cars. The new electronic system could be watching everyone that passes the cameras! Many people find the idea that “big brother is watching you” is more of a worry than a few motorists getting away with driving too fast. Besides, some people will be very unhappy to realize that with the new system, the police could find out where a particular car has been.16 What does the speaker tell us about the common cameras?17 What do we know about the new video camera system?18 What do the inventors suggest the new video camera system can do?
17．
A．They can help take pictures of cars on highways.
B．They can help send fines to speedy motorists.
C．They can help catch cars breaking traffic rules.
D．They can help make the traffic run smoother.
正确答案：C
解析：短文一开始就说到，近些年来照相机一直可被用于拍下违规超速驾驶或者闯红灯车辆的照片。

C是此内容的同义改写，故正确。

18．
A．It takes pictures only.
B．It can not do paperwork.
C．It needs someone to issue fines.
D．It takes pictures and does paperwork.
正确答案：D
解析：短文中提到，这是一种全自动摄像系统，既能自动拍照又能自动处理开罚单等工作，D与此相符．故为正确答案。

19．
A．It can help catch stolen cars.
B．It can package food.
C．It makes cars run faster.
D．It gives information to the drivers.
正确答案：A
解析：短文中提到，系统的发明者同时表示该系统“能够帮忙找回失窃的车辆”，A正确。

听力原文：Scientists have observed that plants themselves produce many poisonous chemicals for defense against insects. But insects have developed ways of dealing with them and, in fact, have been eating plants for about 250 million years. Now insects are using these same mechanisms to deal with man-made poisons—insecticide. This is why resistance of insects to insecticide has developed so rapidly. What should be done? Scientists studying the problem suggest that farmers use less insecticide. At the moment, farmers regularly spray crops as a precaution against problems that are caused by large numbers of pests. They should, instead, spray only where pests have actually been seen. Secondly, farmers could use a combination of two or three insecticide at once. To survive, the insects would need to become resistant to two or more poisons at the same time. The most surprising suggestion, perhaps, is that, at certain times of the year, farmers should actually try to attract new insects onto the crops they are trying to protect The new insects will mate with those which survived from a certain kind of insecticide and will lessen the latter’s resistance to it. Scientists hope that these and other measures will postpone the day when farmers and scientists will have to stand by while new super bugs which may be resistant to all our poisons invade our farms and devour our crops.19 What does the speaker say about plants?20 What is mentioned as one of the suggestions raised by scientists?21 What is the most surprising suggestion scientists give?
20．
A．There are 250 million plants eaten by insects.
B．There are fewer plants than 250 million years ago.
C．They have their way of guarding against insects.
D．They have a better immune system than before.
正确答案：C
解析：短文开头就说到，科学家发现植物自身可以产生许多有害的化学物质来抵御昆虫的侵害，即植物自有抵制昆虫侵害的方法，C与此含义相符，故正确。

21．
A．Using less insecticide.
B．Giving the plants up.
C．Spraying crops frequently.
D．Trying other insecticide.
正确答案：A
解析：短文提到了科学家给农场主的三点建议：少用杀虫剂、同时使用两种或三种杀虫剂、吸引别的昆虫到田间。

A正是短文中提及的建议之一，故为答案。

22．
A．Changing the way of spraying crops.
B．Buying some outdoor insect lamps.
C．Using a combination of three insecticide.
D．Trying to attract new insects onto the crops.
正确答案：D
解析：短文提到，应对害虫耐药性最不寻常的建议是，在一年的某些时候尝试吸引别的昆虫来田间，D正确。

听力原文：Professional sports are very popular in the United States, and they are big business. The most popular sports are baseball, football and basketball. Each has its own season, and millions of supporters. Professional teams are named after the cities where they are located. Their strongest supporters live in cities. When a team plays in a championship game, most people in the city follow the game with interest and enthusiasm. Basketball is well known around the world. Professional basketball games in the United States are played indoors during the winter months. From November to April one can find a professional basketball game several nights a week in most large American cities. Baseball is an American sport. It has been called the national pastime. The game is played in the evenings nearly every day of the week and on weekends as well. The season begins in April and finishes with the World Series in October. Football has become the most popular professional sport in the U.S. It is played on Sundays during the fall from August to January. American football is different from international football, which Americans call soccer. Both games require strength and specialized skills. Professional athletes are very well paid. The most famous athletes make millions of dollars for their playing skill. America’s best athletes have higher salaries than the country’s president.22 What does the speaker tell us about the professional teams in the U.S.?23 When are professional basketball games in the US played indoors?24 What is the national pastime in the U.S. ?25 What
do American football and international football share in common?
23．
A．They are supported by the local government.
B．They are named after the cities where they live.
C．Their players gathered from all over the country.
D．They play professional basketball games in November only.
正确答案：B
解析：短文提到，美国的专业球队以他们所在的城市来命名，B与此同义，故正确。

24．
A．During the summer months.
B．During the spring months.
C．During the winter months.
D．During the autumn months.
正确答案：C
解析：短文提到，美国职业篮球赛冬季在室内进行，故选C。

25．
A．Basketball.
B．Football.
C．Baseball.
D．Golf.
正确答案：C
解析：短文提到，棒球运动是美国全国性的娱乐活动，C正确。

26．
A．Both require strength and specialized skills.
B．Both require height and responsibility.
C．Both require enthusiasm and hard work.
D．Both require flexibility and good health.
正确答案：A
解析：短文提到，美式足球与国际足球都对体力和专业技能有要求，故A 正确。

Part III Reading Comprehension
Section A
Over the last two years, in the PC business Michael Dell has been beaten
like a rented mule. His company continues to lose market【C1】______particularly in the U.S. Industry analysts would say that Dell has done a poor job of bringing out 【C2】______and attractive products. Apple Mac sales keep rising. HP, Sony, and Lenovo have【C3】______new product lines which have had warm【C4】______. Dell’s core business is being hit by three things. The first is that the company was fairly late at【C5】______into retail outlets(零售店)overseas. It【C6】______on its direct sales model for too long. The second problem is that the recession has【C7】______Dell’s sales. Dell’s final problem is that it cannot find the right people to run the company. It【C8】______dumped most of the senior management that it hired just over a year ago. It takes time for new people to get up to speed. Word has gotten out that Dell plans to launch its own high-end smartphone. Dell does not do well what it is supposed to do well. It has become a second rate PC company. It proposes to partially offset that by entering a business which is controlled by Apple and RIM, the maker of the Blackberry. Because smartphone margins are high, Nokia, the world largest cellphone company, Samsung, and Sony Ericsson are also【C9】______into the market. The traffic jam is going to be【C10】______. So Dell can’t win in the handset business. What it ought to do is to try to improve its PC business.A)receptions E)targeting I)comprehensive M)expandingB)depended F)innovative J)recently N)consequentlyC)share G)launched K)rushing O)cutD)extraordinary H)declined L)expressions
27．【C1】
正确答案：C
解析：此处应为名词。

上文提到has been beaten，此空前的continues表明戴尔公司仍受打击，据此可推断此处表示“失去市场份额”，market share也是经济领域的常见表达，故选share。

28．【C2】
正确答案：F
解析：此处应为形容词，与attractive并列。

根据attractive可推知此空的形容词也含有褒义，形容词库中，innovative最为合适，与attractive一起表示产品是“创新和吸引人的”(这些也是电脑这种产业对产品的常见指标)。

29．【C3】
正确答案：G
解析：此处应为动词的过去分词形式，与have一起构成现在完成时。

词库中能够接new product lines作宾语的动词只可能是launched“推出”，本文最后一段第1句也出现了该词。

30．【C4】
正确答案：A
解析：此处应为名词。

根据空前的warm可以推测，此处应该表示“新产品线受到热烈欢迎”，名词词库中，receptions最为适合。

31．【C5】
正确答案：M
解析：此处应为动词的-ing形式。

动词词库中，rushing和expanding后均可跟介词into，但rushing含有“争抢着涌入市场”之义，而空前的fairly late表明戴尔公司迟迟才进入海外零售市场，故rushing与文意不符；expand—ing into表示“拓展进入”，符合文意，故选expanding。

32．【C6】
正确答案：B
解析：此处应为过去时态的谓语动词。

根据空后的介词on可知此动词必须能与on搭配，词库中depended最为合适，此处表示“它很长时间依赖于自身的直销模式”。

33．【C7】
正确答案：O
解析：此处应为动词的过去分词形式，与have一起构成现在完成时。

空前的recession(经济不景气)提示了此处应为对戴尔销售有消极影响的动词。

动词词库中，declined和cut均符合，但declined作“下降；衰退”之义时为不及物动词，后面不能直接跟宾语(作“谢绝”之义时才是及物动词)，据此可排除declined；cut符合文意，表示“经济不景气削减了戴尔的销售额”。

34．【C8】
正确答案：J
解析：此处应为副词。

上一句说戴尔最后一个问题是找不到合适的人来管理公司(一般现在时)，接着说戴尔炒掉了聘请才一年的大部分高管(过去时)，这两句之间没有前因后果的关系，故排除consequently。

recently“最近”正好用在过去时中，符合文意。

35．【C9】
正确答案：K
解析：此处应为动词的-ing形式，与are一起构成现在进行时。

下文的traffic jam提示了此处应该表示“各大公司争相进入利润高的smartphone市场”，rushing 符合文意。

36．【C10】
正确答案：D
解析：此处应为形容词。

结合上文可知此处有“竞争之激烈异乎寻常”之义，extraordinary符合题意。

Section B
There’s No Place Like Home[A]On almost any night of the week, Churchill’s Restaurant is hopping. The 10-year-old hot spot in Rockville Centre, Long Island, is packed with locals drinking beer and eating burgers, with some customers spilling over onto the street. “We have lots of regulars—people who are recognized when they come in,”says co-owner Kevin Culhane. In fact, regulars make up more than 80 percent of the restaurant’s customers. “People feel comfortable and safe here,”Culhane says, “This is their place.”[B]Thriving neighborhood restaurants are one small data point in a larger trend I call the new localism. The basic idea: the longer people stay in their homes and communities, the more they identify with those places, and the greater their commitment to helping local businesses and institutions thrive, even in a downturn. Several factors are driving this process, including an aging population, suburbanization, the Internet, and an increased focus on family life. And even as the recession has begun to yield to recovery, our commitment to our local roots is only going to grow deeper. Evident before the recession, the new localism will shape how we live and work in the coming decades, and may even influence the course of our future politics.[C]Perhaps nothing will be as surprising about 21st-century America as its settledness. For more than a generation Americans have believed that “spatial mobility”would increase, and, as it did, feed a trend toward rootlessness and anomie(社会道德沦丧). In 2000, Harvard’s Robert Putnam made a point in Bowling Alone, in which he wrote about the “civic malaise” he saw gripping the country. In Putnam’s view, society was being undermined, largely due to suburbanization and what he called “the growth of mobility.”[D]Yet in reality Americans actually are becoming less nomadic(游牧的). As recently as the 1970s as many as one in five people moved annually: by 2006, long before the current recession took hold, that number was 14 percent, the lowest rate since the census(人口普查)starting following movement in 1940. Since then tougher times have accelerated these trends, in large part because opportunities to sell houses and find new employment have dried up. In 2008, the total number of people changing residences was less than those who did so in 1962, when the country had 120 million fewer people. The stay-at-home trend appears particularly strong among aging boomers, who stay tied to their suburban homes—close to family, friends, clubs, churches, and familiar surroundings.[E]The trend will not bring back the comer grocery stores and the declining organizations—bowling leagues, Boy Scouts, and such—cited by Putnam and others as the traditional glue of American communities. Nor will our car-oriented suburbs copy the close neighborhood feel so celebrated by romantic urbanists. Instead, we’re evolving in ways fit for a postindustrial society. It
will not spell the decline of Wal-Mart or Costco, but will express itself in scores of alternative institutions, such as thriving local weekly newspapers that have withstood the shift to the Internet far better than big-city dailies.[F]Our less mobile nature is already reshaping the corporate world. The kind of corporate mobility described in Peter Kilborn’s recent book, Next Stop, Reloville: Life Inside America’s Rootless Professional Class, in which families relocate every couple of years so the breadwinner can reach a higher step on the managerial ladder, will become less common in years ahead. A smaller group of corporate executives may still move from place to place, but surveys reveal many executives are now unwilling to move even for a good promotion. Why? Family and technology are two key factors working against mobility, in the workplace and elsewhere.[G]Family, as one Pew researcher notes, “matters more than money when people make decisions about where to live.”Interdependence is replacing independence. More parents are helping their children financially well into their 30s and 40s: the numbers of “boomerang kids”moving back home with their parents, has also been growing as job options and the ability to buy houses has decreased for the young. Recent surveys of the emerging generation suggest this family-centric focus will last well into the coming decades.[H]Nothing allows for geographic choice more than the ability to work at home. Demographer(人口学家)Wendell Cox suggests there will be more people working electronically at home full time than taking mass transportation, making it the largest potential source of energy savings on transportation. In the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles, almost one in 10 workers is a part-time telecommuter. Some studies indicate that more than one quarter of the U.S. workforce could eventually participate in this new work pattern. Even IBM, whose initials were once jokingly said to stand for “I’ve Been Moved,” has changed its approach. About 40 percent of the company’s workers now labor at home or remotely from a client’s location.[I]These home-based workers become critical to the local economy. They will eat in local restaurants, attend fairs and festivals, take their kids to soccer practices, ballet lessons, or religious youth-group meetings. This is not merely a suburban phenomenon: localism also means a stronger sense of identity for urban neighborhoods as well as smaller towns.[J]Could the new localism also affect our future politics? Throughout our history, we have always preferred our politics more on the home-cooked side. On his visit to America in the early 1830s, Alexis de Tocqueville was struck by the decentralized nature of the country. “The intelligence and the power are spread abroad,”he wrote, “and instead of radiating from a point, they cross each other in every direction.”[K]This is much the same today. The majority of Americans still live in a combination of smaller towns and cities, including many suburban towns within large metropolitan regions. After decades of hurried mobility, we are seeing a return to placeness, along with more choices for individuals, families, and communities. For entrepreneurs like Kevin Culhane and his workers at Churchill’s, it’s a phenomenon that may also offer a lease on years of new profits. “We’re holding our own in these times because we appeal to the people around here,” Culhane says. And as places like Long Island become less bedroom community and more round-the-clock location for work and play, he’s likely to have plenty of hungry customers.
37．When visiting the US in the early 1830s, Alexis de Tocqueville found that the country had the nature of decentralization.
正确答案：J
解析：根据题目中的时间点1830s和专有名词Alexis de Tocqueville定位到J 段倒数第2句。

本题的found that…对应该句的was struck by，题中nature of decentralization是该句the decentralized nature的同义复现。

因此，本题源自J段。

38．The stay-at-home trends have accelerated since 2006 mainly because it was harder to sell houses and find jobs.
正确答案：D
解析：根据题目中的stay-at-home trends和时间词2006定位到D段第2、3句。

该段第3句中的then指的是第2句中的2006；these trend指代第2句每年迁居的人数逐渐减少的趋势，段末将其概括为stay-at-home trend；本题的mainly because…与原文的in large part because…同义，据此可知本题源自D段。

39．Putnam believed that suburbanization and growing mobility were undermining the society.
正确答案：C
解析：根据题目中的Putnam，suburbanization,growing mobility和undermining the society定位到C段最后两句。

这两句先说结果再说原因(due to)，而本题的陈述则是先因后果。

本题的Putnam believed对应原文的In Putnam’s view，而growing mobility则对应原文双引号里面的growth of mobility，因此本题源自C 段。

40．Most customers of Churchill’s Restaurant are old customers.
正确答案：A
解析：根据题目中的专有名词Churchill’s Restaurant定位到A段。

结合本题的Most及old customers可进一步定位到该段倒数第2句，该句提到该餐厅80%以上的顾客都是常客(regulars)。

本题的Most对应该句的more than 80 percent，而old customers则对应regulars，本题为该句的同义表达。

41．The tendency of settledness will result in prosperity of local newspapers.
正确答案：E
解析：根据题目中的prosperity和local newspapers定位到E段。

该段开头的The trend可追溯到上一段的The stay-at-home trend，本题的The tendency of settledness与之意思相近；本题的prosperity是E段最后一句中的thriving“繁荣”的同义表达，表明会使得地方报纸繁荣起来。

由此可知，本题源于E段。