四级阅读理解及答案

Passage 1By the time the Olympics begin in Atlanta this summer, the business world will have spent more than $ 1 billion to link their names and products to the Olympic Games. There are 10 Worldwide Sponsors, 10 Centennial Olympic Partners, about 20 regular sponsors and more than a hundred licensees. The Atlanta Games will boast an “official" scouring pad and timepiece, two official game shows, and three official vehicles: a family car, an import minivan and a luxury sedan.But what exactly do these companies reap for their huge investment? At the very least, they command tickets to the most popular events, invitations to the best parties and prime hotel rooms. But most of all, according to US Postal Service, it is purchasing the right to spend money.And the right to spend money is expensive. The biggest backers, Olympic sponsors like Anheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola, Mcdonald's and Xerox, commit up to $ 40 million. But, getting the rights to the Olympic rings is only half the battle. The other half is the challenge to sort of wrap their product brands around that image. Often that means TV time. And at roughly $ 400 000 per 30-second spot, some of the biggest sponsors have already locked up every commercial slot in their product categories that NBC has to sell. Not everyone is convinced that the Games are worth the price of business admission. The biggest and most conspicuous naysayer is Nike. Its spokesman says:“If I see a Reebok official who may not be in the best shape firing the starting pistol and Carl Lewis wearing Nike shoes, I'm going to go with Carl because that's the authentic link." Nike's strategy is hard to argue with - instead of sponsoring the Olympics, it sponsors Olympians.Yet even Nike wants a piece of the Atlantic action. Along with some other nonsponsors, Nike is trying to dot downtown Atlanta with billboards. Advertisement, it's another Olympic event.1. By “official vehicles", the author means .A. automobiles for Olympic officialsB. automobiles used in official occasionC. automobiles that the Olympic participants must driveD. automobiles that allowed to bear the Olympic symbol2. Which of the following is not an Olympic sponsor?A. US Postal Service.B. Nike.C. Coca-Cola.D. Mcdonald's3. The last sentence of this passage indicates .A. businesses trying to get publicity is a part of the Olympic GamesB. what the Olympic non-sponsors do is of no interest to the Olympic organizersC. that businesses must try very hard to earn money from the Olympic Games as if they were themselves competing in the GamesD. that those who fail to sponsor the Olympics this time will try very hard the next time4. Which of the following is NOT implied in the passage ?A. Companies use their Olympic sponsorship to promote sales of their products.B. To provide sportswear for Carl Lewis is a more effective advertisement than to provide suits for Olympic officials.C. NBC makes great profits from selling advertising time to companies eager toimpress potential customers during the Olympic Games.D. Nike looks down upon the Olympic Games.5. Which of the following can best sum up the passage?A. Businesses want to profit from the Olympics.B. The 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.C. The Olympic sponsorship.D. Importance of the Olympic Games.Passage 2Halloween(October 31)This is a holiday widely celebrated with different names in many countries. Although it originated as a religious holiday, it has lost its religious connections in the United States. It is now celebrated largely as a children's day, and many American children look forward to it for days and weeks beforehand.The orange pumpkin is harvested at this time of year and is hollowed out, a funny face cut into it, and a candle placed inside as a decoration in the window. City folks, nowadays, sometimes use paper pumpkins for decorations.Some years ago, the holiday was celebrated by dressing up in strange and frightening costumes and playing tricks on one's neighbors and friends, such as ringing door bells, throwing bits of corn on the window panes, and in other ways making minor disturbances.More recently, children come to the door to have friends and neighbors admire their costumes and guess who they are behind the false faces and receive treats of candy, fruit or cookies. They say, “Trick or Treat", meaning, “I will play a trick on you will not give me a treat." This practice has even more recently developed into a significant international activity. Instead of or along with candy, the children collect money for UNICEF (United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund). This special collection of money by children for needy children throughout the world is known as “UNICEF Trick of Treat". Begun only recently, it results in several million dollars each year contributed to UNICEF. The collection box is orange, reminiscent of the pumpkin.6. What cloes Holloween originate from?A. a chilolren's dayB. a trick or treatC. a religious dayD. a day for UNI CEF7. Which of the following is not mentioned some years ago how the children celebrate the Halloween?A. Dressing up in strange and frightening costumes and playing tricks on one's neighbors friends.B. Ringing door bells.C. Throwing bits of corn on the window panes.D. Dressing up in the best holiday clothes.8. Which of the following is not used in the Halloween celebration?A. PumpkinB. CandleC. CostumeD. Flowerdo the children collect money in the Halloween?A. They love money.B. They want to get enough money to buy themselves candy.C. The adults are willing to give them money.D. They want to help other children.10. What is the symbol of Halloween?A. Pumpkin.B. Candle.C. LaughterD. Money.Passage 3International airlines have rediscovered the business travelers, the man or woman who regularly jets from country to country as part of the job. This does not necessarily mean that airlines ever abandoned their business travelers. Indeed, companies like Lufthansa and Swissair would rightly argue that they have always catered best for the executive class passengers. But many lines could be accused of concentrating too heavily in the recent past on attracting passengers by volume, often at the expense of regular travelers. Too often, they have seemed geared for quantity rather than quality. Operating a major airline in the 1980s is essentially a matter of finding the right mix of passengers. The airlines need to fill up the back end of their wide-bodied jets with low fare passengers, without forgetting that the front end should be filled with people who pay substantially more for their tickets.It is no coincidence that the two major airline bankruptcies in 1982 were among the companies specializing in cheap flights. But low fares require consistently full aircraft to make flights economically viable, and in the recent recession the volume of traffic has not grown. Equally the large number of airlines jostling for the available passengers has created a huge excess of capacity. The net result of excess capacity and cut-throat competition driving down fares has been to push some airlines into collapse and leave many others hovering on the brink.Against this grim background, it is no surprise that airlines are turning increasingly towards the business travelers to improve their rates of return. They have invested much time and effort to establish exactly what the executive demands for sitting apart from the tourists.High on the list of priorities is punctuality; an executive's time is money. In-flight service is another area where the airlines are jostling for the executive's attention. The free drinks and headsets and better food are all part of the lure.11. One criticism against many international airlines is that they have, in the recent past, .A. catered for the more wealthy peopleB. given preferential treatment to executive clientsC. only met the needs of the regular travelerD. marketed their service with the masses in mind12. With the intention of attracting a somewhat different type of passenger, the airlines have now begun to concentrate on .A. ensuring that the facilities offered to the executive are indeed superiorB. providing facilities enabling business travelers to work on boardC. organizing activities in which first-class passengers can participateD. installing sleeping compartments where more privacy is ensured13. From the passage we can infer that .A. a successful airline in the 1980s meets the needs not only of the masses but also of the wealthy passengersB. it is more comfortable to sit in the back of jet planesC. business travelers dislike touristsD. only by specializing in cheap flights can airlines avoid bankruptcy.14. In Paragraph 5. “in-flight service" means .A. Service on the planeB. A new safety deviceC. Flights within one countryD. Charge-free air service15. The following are all used to attract passengers except .A. punctualityB. sound systemC. free drinksD. charge-free foodPassage 4In only two decades Asian-American have become the fastest-growing US minority. As their children began moving up through the nation's schools, it became clear that a new class of academic achievers was emerging. Their achievements are reflected in the nation's best universities, where mathematics, science and engineering departments have taken on a decidedly Asian character. (This special liking for mathematics and science is partly explained by the fact that Asian-American students who began their education abroad arrived in the . with a solid grounding in mathematics but little or no knowledge of English.) They are also influenced by the promise of a good job after college. Asians feel there will be less unfair treatment in areas like mathematics and science because they will be judged more immediate in something like engineering than with an arts degree.Most Asian-American students owe their success to the influence of parents who are determined that their children take full advantage of what the American educational system has to offer. An effective measure of parental attention is homework. Asian parents spend more time with their children than American parents do, and it helps. Many researchers also believe there is something in Asian culture that breeds success, such as ideals that stress family values and emphasize education.Both explanations for academic success worry Asian-Americans because of fears that they feed a typical racial image. Many can remember when Chinese, Japanese and Filipino immigrants were the victims of social isolation. Indeed, it was not until 1952 that laws were laid down giving all Asian immigrants the right to citizenship.16. While making tremendous achievements at college, Asian-American students .A. feel they are mistreated because of limited knowledge of English.B. are afraid that their academic successes bear a strong Asian characterC. still worry about unfair treatment in societyD. generally feel it a shame to have to depend on their parents17. What are the major factors that determine the success of Asian-Americans?A. A solid foundation in basic mathematics and Asian culture.B. Hard work and intelligence.C. Hard help and a limited knowledge of EnglishD. Asian culture and the American educational system.18. Few Asian-American students major in human sciences mainly because .A. their English is not good enough.B. they are afraid they might meet with unfair judgment in these areasC. there is a wide difference between Asian and Western culturesD. they know little about American culture and society19. Why do the two “explanations" (Para. 3, Line 1) worry Asian-Americans?A. They are afraid that they would again be isolated from American society in general.B. People would think that Asian students rely on their parents for success.C. Asian-Americans would be a threat to other minorities.D. American academic achievements have taken on too strong at Asian character.20. The author's tone in this passage is .A. sympatheticB. doubtfulC. criticalD. objectiveassage 1Mrs. Lester kept on asking her husband to take her to the ballet. Mr. Lester hates the ballet, but when his employer invited him and his wife, he could not get out of it. As they drove to the theatre that evening, the fog got worse and worse. The traffic slowed down to a walking pace and almost stopped. When they eventually got to the theatre, the ballet was over. Mrs. Lester could not work out how it had taken them so long to get there, even taking the fog into account. The theatre was within walking distance of their house. It took her a long time to get over the disappointment.A month later, Mrs. Lester found out what had happened. told a friend of his that he had taken wrong turning on purpose. This friend told his wife, and the wife immediately went around to tell Mrs. Lester. The two women began to plan a revenge. One day, when Mr. Lester was not in, they broke into his study, which he always locked. His hobby was collecting old coins. Mrs. Lester had already worked out how much his collection was worth:$850!They were taking some coins out of the case when they heard a car pull up outside the house. Mrs. Lester quickly switched the light off, and they waited, holding their breath. The front door opened and Mr. Lester came in. They heard him take hisc oat off. He walked towards the study door and opened it. There was no chance for the women to get away without being seen. Mr. Lester switched the light on and was astounded to see his wife standing there with a handful of valuable coins. It took both husband and wife a long time to get over this.1. Which of the following is correct?A. Mr. Lester likes to watch ballet.B. Mrs. Lester likes to watch ballet.C. Both of them like to watch balletD. Neither of them likes to watch ballet.2. It was quite when they drove to the theatre..A. rainyB. stormyC. cloudyD. foggy3. The theater is from Mr. and Mrs. Lester's.A. an hour-drivingB. in the other side of the cityC. very nearD. half an hour of bicycle riding4. The wife of Mr. Lester's friend is a .A. social workerB. house cleanerC. baby sitterD. gossip5. How many persons are mentioned in this story?A. ThreeB. FourC. FiveD. Six.Passage 2The motor vehicle has killed and disabled more people in its brief history than any bomb or weapon ever invented. Much of the blood on the street flows essentially from uncivil behavior of drivers who refuse to respect the legal and moral rights of others. So the massacre on the road may be regarded as a social problem.In fact, the enemies of society on wheels are rather harmless people just ordinary people acting carelessly, you might say. But it is a principle both of law and common morality that carelessness is no excuse when one's actions could bring death or damage to others. A minority of the killers go even beyond carelessness to total negligence.Researchers have estimated that as many as 80 per cent of all automobile accidents can be attributed to the psychological condition of the driver. Emotional upsets can distort drivers' reactions, slow their judgement, and blind them to dangers that might otherwise be evident. The experts warn that it is vital for every driver to make a conscious effort to keep one's emotions under control.Yet the irresponsibility that accounts for much of the problem is not confined to drivers. Street walkers regularly violate traffic regulations, they are at fault in most vehicle walker accidents; and many cyclists even believe that they are not subject to the basic rules of the road.Significant legal advances have been made towards safer driving in the past few years. Safety standards for vehicle have been raised both at the point of manufacture and through periodic road-worthiness inspections. In addition, speed limits have been lowered. Due to these measures, the accident rate has decreased. But the accident experts still worry because there has been little or no improvement in the way drivers behave. The only real and lasting solution, say the experts, is to convince people that driving is a skilled task requiring constant care and concentration. Those who fail to do all these things present a threat to those with whom they share the road.6. What is the author's main purpose in writing the passage?A. To show that the motor vehicle is a very dangerous invention.B. To promote understanding between careless drivers and street walkers.C. To discuss traffic problems and propose possible solutions.D. To warn drivers of the importance of safe driving.7. According to the passage, traffic accidents may be regarded as a social problem because .A. autos have become most destructive to mankindB. people usually pay little attention to law and moralityC. civilization brings much harm to peopleD. the lack of virtue is becoming more severe8. Why does the author mention the psychological condition of the driver in Paragraph Three?A. To give an example of the various reasons for road accidents.B. To show how important it is for drivers to be emotionally healthy.C. To show some of the inaccurate estimations by researchers.D. To illustrate the hidden tensions in the course of driving.9. Who are NOT mentioned as being responsible for the road accidents?A. Careless bicycle-riders.B. Mindless people walking in the street.C. Irresponsible drivers.D. Irresponsible manufactures of automobiles.10. Which of the following best reflects the author's attitude toward a futurewithout traffic accident problems?A. Doubtful yet still longing forB. Happy and rather confidentC. Surprised and very pleasedD. Disappointed and deeply worriedPassage 3In the early days of nuclear power, the United States made money on it. But today opponents have so complicated its development that no nuclear plants have been ordered or built here in 12 years.The greatest fear of nuclear power opponents has always been a reactor “meltdown”. Today, the chances of a meltdown that would threaten . public health are testing new reactors that rely not on human judgment to shut them down but on the laws of nature. Now General Electric is already building two advanced reactors in Japan. But don't expect them even on . shores unless things change in Washington. The procedure for licensing nuclear power plants is a bad dream. Any time during, or even after, construction, an objection by any group or individual can bring everything to a halt while the matter is investigated or taken to court. Meanwhile, the builder must add nice but not necessary improvements, some of which force him to knock down walls and start over. In every case when a plant has been opposed, the Nuclear Regulation Commission has ultimately granted a license to construct or operate. But the victory often costs so much that the utility ends up abandoning the plant anyway.A case in point is the Shoreham plant on New York's Long Island. Shoreham was a virtual twin to the Millstone plant in Connecticut, both ordered in the mid60s'. Millstone, complete for $ 101 million, has been generating electricity for two decades. Shoreham, however, was singled out by antinuclear activists who, by sending in endless protests, drove the cost over $ 5 billion and delayed its use for many years.Shoreham finally won its operation license. But the plant has never produced a watt power. Governor Mario Cuomo, an opponent of a Shoreharn start up, used his power to force New York's publicutilities commission to accept the following settlement: the power company could pass the cost of Shoreham along to its consumers only if it agreed not to operate the plant. Today, a perfectly good facility, capable of servicing hundreds of thousands of homes, sits rusting.11. The author's attitude towards the development of nuclear power is .A. negativeB. neutralC. positiveD. questioning12. What has made the procedure for licensing nuclear plants a bad dream?A. The inefficiency of the Nuclear Regulation Commission.B. The enormous cost of construction and operation.C. The length of time it takes to make investigations.D. The objection of the opponents of nuclear power.13. It can be inferred from Paragraph 2 that .A. there are not enough safety measures in the . for running new nuclear power plantsB. it is not technical difficulties that prevent the building of nuclear power plants in the .C. there are already more nuclear power plants than necessary in the .D. the American government will not allow Japanese nuclear reactors to be installed in the .14. Governor Mario Cuomo's chief intention in proposing the settlement was to .A. stop the Shoreham plant from going into operationB. urge the power company to further increase its power supplyC. permit the Shoreham plant to operate under certain conditionsD. help the power company to solve its financial problems15. From which sentence of the article can you see the attitude of the author and that of Govenor Mario Cuomo respectively?A. the 2nd sentence in the frist paragraph, the 3rd sentence in the last paragraph.B. the last sentence, the last sentence but oneC. the last sentence in , last sentence but one.D. the last sentence in para 3, the 3rd sentence in the fifth paragraph. Passage 4Does a bee know what is going on in its mind when it navigates its way to distant food sources and back to the hive (蜂房), using polarized sunlight and the tiny magnet it carries as a navigational aid? Or is the bee just a machine, unable to do its mathematics and dance its language in any other way? To use Dondald Griffin's term, does a bee ha ve “awareness", or to use a phrase I like better, can a bee think and imagine?There is an experiment for this, or at least an observation, made long ago by Karl von Firsch and more recently confirmed by James Gould in Princeton. Biologists who wish to study such things as bee navigation, language, and behavior in general have to train their bees to fly from the hive to one or another special place. To do this, they begin by placing a source of sugar very close to the hive so that the bees (considered by their trainers to be very dumb beasts) can learn what the game is about. Then, at regular interval, the dish or whatever is moved progressively farther and farther from the hive, in increments (增加量) of about 25 percent at each move. Eventually, the target is being moved 100 feet or more at a jump, very far from the hive. Sooner or later, while this process is going on, the biologist shifting the dish of sugar will find the bees are out there waiting for them, precisely where the next position had been planned. This is an uncomfortable observation to make.16. The best title for the passage is .A. Teaching the Bees to NavigateB. Testing the Awareness of BeesC. Navigational Techniques of BeesD. Behaviorists Versus Biologists: A Zoological Debate17. The word “awareness" in paragraph 1 appears in quotation marks in order to .A. show the author's preference for the termB. indicate that it is being used humorouslyC. acknowledge Donald Griffin's previous use of the termD. point out that it was used differently earlier in the passage18. In the second paragraph Karl von Frischis mentioned .A. to introduce his observation on bee behaviorB. to contrast his theories with those of James GouldC. acknowledge Donald Griffin's previous use of the termD. point out that it was used differently earlier in the passage19. According to the author, sugar was used in the study .A. to reward the bees for performing the experiment correctlyB. to train the bees to travel to a particular placeC. to ensure that the bees knew where the hive wasD. to ensure that the bees would obey the orders20. The result of the experiment explained in the passage seems to indicate that .A. research using bees is too dangerous to be conducted successfullyB. bees are unable to navigate beyond 100 feet their hiveC. scientists can teach bees to navigateD. bees are able to perform limited reasoning tasksssage 1David Thomson is an electronics technician, trained by the . Navy, wrist is surrounded by a force field that can broadcast emotions to other human beings. The ability to receive such force fields, Thomson believes, explains how one can sense another's fear, nervousness, aggression, panic, or friendliness.This theory of emotional communication occurred to Thomson when he told a psychiatrist（精神病医生）, Dr. Jack Ward, that he was certain his own hypertension （高血压，过度紧张） made those near him uncomfortable. To demonstrate the theory, Thomson constructed a transmitter capable of generating an electromagnetic field similar to that of a man beset by hyper anxiety（过度焦虑）. For a year, with this in his pocket, Thomson made people miserable. He would find a hungry man delightedly preparing to eat a steak in a restaurant, turn on the transmitter, and watch as the man became tense and irritable and finally left with his steak uneaten. In another test, Thomson cleared a crowded room in fifteen minutes. Such an exodus（出去） could not be due, Thomson observed, to personality problems alone.Dr. Ward, who had become Thomson's partner, insisted that there was already misery enough in the fashioned a "happiness transmitter," which can duplicate the force field of a contented man. University psychologists in the United States report some encouraging results in current tests of the Thomson-and-Ward transmitter.The "happiness machine" has many possibilities. Thomson has speculated on its use near disturbed or anxious patients in hospitals, and in unruly crowds. Tranquility（平静）, like panic and violence, may be contagions（传染性的）. 1. The theory is based on belief in the existence of .equipment B. individual force fields C. nervousness2. The theory occurred to Thomson because he was convinced that people near him . hypnotize him B. could make him feel uncomfortableC. were reading his thoughts D were affected by his hypertension3. For his first demonstrations, Thomson chose people who .in a happy mood B. seemed hyper anxious C. were aggressive B and C4. The Thomson-and-Ward transmitter was constructed because .psychologists suggested it B. the "misery machine" had not workedC. Dr. Ward felt there was misery enough forces asked for it5. Thomson has speculated on .helpful uses of a "happiness machine"B. possible wrongful uses of a "happiness machine"C. the disadvantages of a tranquil population final report on the psychologists' testsPassage 2Just 30 years ago some 700 million people lived in cities. Today the number stands at 1,800 million, and by the end of the century it will to 3,000 million—more than half the world's estimated population. By the year 2000 an estimated 650 million people will crowd into 60 cities of five million or more—three quarters of them in the developing worl a single First World city—metropolitan Tokyo, which will have 24 million people—is expected to be among the global top five; London, ranked second in 1950 with ten million people, will not even make 2000's top places where rates of natural population increase exceed three per cent annually—meaning much of the Third World—that alone is enough to double a city's population within 20 years. But equally powerful are the streams of hopeful migrants from the countryside. What faces and confuses urban planners is the huge scale of these trends. There have never been cities of 30 million people, let alone ones dependent on roads, sewer and water supplies barely adequate for urban areas a tenth that size. And the flood of new arrivals in swelling Third World cities far overtakes the supply of jobs—particularly as modern industries put a premium on technology rather than manpower. So it will be virtually impossible to find permanent employment for 30 to 40 per cent of the 1,000 million new city inhabitants expected by the year 2000.Despite the terrible conditions that the city newcomers face, their numbers are growing at rates as much as twice that of the cities themselves—and every step taken to improve their living conditions in the slums only attracts more migrants. 6. Which of the following is the main topic of this passage?increase of world population. B. The improvement of urban living conditions.C. The migrants from the countryside and their unemployment.expansion of cities and its consequences.7. The author uses Tokyo as an example mainly to show that .biggest cities will still be in First World countriesB. its development speed will be greater than that of LondonC. most of the biggest cities will be in the Third World countrieswill keep control of the growth of big cities such as Tokyo8. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?half of the world's population will move to cities by 2000.B. The order of the world's biggest cities will be changed fundamentally by the year 2000.C. The world population will reach about 6,000 million by 2000.poor countries will suffer more from the expansion of cities by 2000.9. According to the last paragraph, all of the following are true EXCEPT that . of modern technology will reduce the use of manpower。