2013年12月大学英语四级仔细阅读习题

2013年12月大学英语四级仔细阅读习题（一）Judging from recent surveys,most experts in sleep behavior agree that there is virtually an epidemic (流行病) of sleepiness in the nation. “I can't think of a single study that hasn't found Americans getting less sleep than they ought to,” says Dr. David. Even people who think they are sleeping enough would probably be better off with more rest.The beginning of our sleep-deficit (睡眠不足) crisis can betraced to the invention of the light bulb a century ago. From diary entries and other personal accounts from the 18th and 19th centuries, sleep scientists have reached the conclusion that the average person used to sleep about 9.5 hours anight. “The best sleep habits once were forced on us, when we had nothing to do in the evening down on t he farm, and it was dark.” By the 1950s and 1960s, that sleep schedule had been reduced dramatically, to between 7.5 and eight hours,and most people had to wake to an alarm clock. “People cheat on their sleep,and they don't even realize they're doing it,” says Dr. David. "They think they're okay because they can get by on 6.5hours, when they really need 7.5, eight or even more to feel ideally vigorous."Perhaps the most merciless robber of sleep,researchers say, is the complexity of the day. Whenever pressures from work,family, friends and community mount, many people consider sleep the least expensive item on his programme. 'In our society, you're considered dynamic if you say you only need 5.5 hours' sleep. If you've got to get 8.5 hours, people think you lack drive and ambition."To determine the consequences of sleep deficit,researchers have put subjects through a set of psychological and performance tests requiring them, for instance, to add columns of numbers or recall a passage read to them only minutes earlier. "We've found that if you're in sleep deficit, performance suffers," says Dr. David. “Short-term memory is weakened, as are abilities to make decisions and to concentrate.”1. People in the 18th and 19th centuries used to sleep about 9.5 hoursa night because theyhad _______ .A) no drive and ambition B) noelectric lightingC) the best sleep habits D)nothing to do in the evening2. According to Dr. David, Americans _______ .A) are ideally vigorous even under the pressure of lifeB) of ienneglect the consequences of sleep deficitC) do not know how to relax themselves properlyD) can get by on 6.5 hours of sleep3. Many Americans believe that _______ .A) sleep is the first thing that can be sacrificed when one is busyB) they need more sleep to cope with the complexities of everyday lifeC) to sleep is something one can do at any time of the dayD) enough sleep promotes people's drive and ambition4. The word “subjects” (Line 1, Para. 4) refers to______ .A) the performance tests used in the study of sleep deficitB) special branches of knowledge that are being studiedC) people whose behavior or reactions are being studiedD) the psychological consequences of sleep deficit5. It can be concluded from the passage that one should sleep as many hours as is necessary to ______ .A) improve one's memory dramaticallyB) be considered dynamic by other peopleC) maintain one's daily scheduleD) feel energetic and perform adequately2013年12月大学英语四级仔细阅读习题（二）We find that bright children are rarely held back by mixed-ability teaching. Onthe contrary, both their knowledge and experience are enriched. We feel thatthere are many disadvantages in streaming(把......按能力分班) pupils. It doesnot take into account the fact that children develop at different rates. It canhave a bad effect on both the bright and the not-so-bright child. After all, itcan be quite discouraging to be at the bottom of the top grade!Besides, it is rather unreal tograde people just according to their intellectual ability. This isonly one aspect of their totalpersonality. We are concerned to develop the abilities of all our pupils to thefull, not just their academic ability. We also value personal qualities andsocial skills, and we find that mixed-ability teaching contributes to all theseaspects of learning.In our classrooms, we work invarious ways. The pupils often work in groups: this gives them the opportunityto learn to co-operate, to share, and to develop leadership skills. They alsolearn how to cope with personal problems as well as learning how to think, tomake decisions, to analyse and evaluate, and to communicate effectively. Thepupils learn from each other as well as from the teacher.Sometimes the pupils work inpairs; sometimes they work on individual tasks and assignments, and they can dothis at their own speed. They also have some formal class teaching when this isappropriate. We encourage our pupils to use the library, and we teach them theskills they need in order to do this efficiently. An advanced pupil can doadvanced work: it does not matter what age the child is. We expect our pupilsto do their best, not their least, and we give them every encouragement toattain this goal.1. In the passage the author's attitude towards"mixed-ability teaching" is _______ .A) critical B)questioningC) approving D)objective2. By "held back" (Line I) the authormeans ______ .A) made to remain in the same classesB) forced to study in the lower classesC) drawn to their studiesD) prevented from advancing3. The author argues that a teacher's chief concernshould be the development of thestudent's _______ .A) personal qualities and social skillsB) total personalityC) learning ability and communicative skillsD) intellectual ability4. Which of the following is NOT MENTIONED in thethird paragraph?A) Group work gives pupils the opportunity tolearn to work together with others.B) Pupils also learn to develop their reasoningabilities.C) Group work provides pupils with theopportunity to learn to be capable organizers.D) Pupils also learn how to participate inteaching activities.5. The author's purpose in writing this passage isto _______ .A) argue for teaching bright andnot-so-bright pupils in the same classB) recommend pair work and group work forclassroom activitiesC) offer advice on the proper use of thelibraryD) emphasize the importance of appropriateformal classroom teaching2013年12月大学英语四级仔细阅读习题（三）What has thetelephone done to us, or for us, in the hundred years of its existence? A feweffects suggest themselves at once. It has saved lives by getting rapid word ofillness, injury, or fire from remote places. By joining with the elevator tomake possible the multi-story residence or office building, it has madepossible for better or worse -- the modem city. By bringing about a great leapin the speed and ease with which information moves from place to place, it hasgreatly accelerated the rate of scientific and technological changes and growthin industry. Beyond doubt it has seriously weakened if not killed the ancientart of letter writing. It has made living alone possible for persons withnormal social impulses (冲动) ; by so doing, it has played a role in one of thegreatest social changes of this century, the breakup of the multi-generationalhousehold. It has made the war chillingly more efficient than formerly.Perhaps, though not provably, it has prevented wars that might have arisen outof intemational misunderstanding caused by written communication. Or perhaps―again not provably―by magnifying (扩大) and extendingirrational personal conflicts based on voice contact, it hascaused wars.Certainly it has extended the scope of human conflicts, since it impartially (不偏不倚) disseminates (传播)the useful knowledge of scientists andthe nonsense of the ignorant, the affection of the affectionate and the malice (恶意) of the malicious.1. What is the main idea of this passage?A) Thetelephone has helped to save people from illness and fire.B) Thetelephone has helped to prevent wars and conflicts.C) Thetelephone has made the modern city neither better nor worse.D) Thetelephone has had positive as well as negative effects on us.2. According to the passage, it is the telephonethat _______ .A) has madeletter writing an artB) hasprevented wars by avoiding written communicationC) has madethe world different from what it wasD) hascaused wars by magnifying and extending human conflicts3. The telephone hasintensified conflicts among people because ______ .A) itincreases the danger of warB) itprovides services to both the good and the maliciousC) it makesdistant communication easierD) it breaksup the multi-generational household4. The author describes thetelephone as impartial because it _______ .A) saveslives of people in remote placesB) enablespeople to live alone if they want toC) spreadsboth love and ill willD) replacesmuch written communication5. The writer's attitudetowards the use of the telephone is _______A) affectionate B)disapprovingC) approving D)neutralIt is hard to predict howscience is going to turn out, and if it is really good science it is impossibleto predict. If the things to be found are actually new, they are by definitionunknown in advance. You cannot make choices in this matter. You either havescience or you don't, and if you have it you are obliged to accept thesurprising and disturbing pieces of information, along with the neat andpromptly useful bits.The only solid piece ofscientific truth about which I feel totally confident is that we are profoundlyignorant about nature. Indeed, I regard this as the major discovery of the pasthundred years of biology. It is, in its way, an illuminating (启发) piece of news.It would have amazed the brightest minds of the 18th century Enlightenment (启蒙运动) to be told byany of us how little we know and how bewildering (迷惑) seems the wayahead. It is this sudden confrontation (对抗) with the depth and scopeof ignorance that represents the most significant contribution of the 20th centuryscience to the human intellect. In earlier times, weeither pretended tounderstand how things worked or ignored the problem, or simply made up storiesto fill the gaps. Now that we have begun exploring in earnest, we are gettingglimpses of how huge the questions are, and how far from being answered.Because of this, we are depressed. It is not so bad being ignorant if you aretotally ignorant; the hard thing is knowing in some detail the reality ofignorance, the worst spots and here and there the not-so-bad spots, but no truelight at the end of the tunnel nor even any tunnels that can yet be trusted.But we are making abeginning, and there ought to be some satisfaction. There are probably noquestions we can think up that can't be answered, sooner or later, includingeven the matter of consciousness. To be sure, there may well be questions wecan't think up, ever, and therefore limits to the reach of human intellect, butthat is another matter. Within our limits, we should be able to work our waythrough to all our answers, if we keep at it long enough, and pay attention.1. According to the author, really good science_______ .A) wouldsurprise the brightest minds of the 18th century EnlightenmentB) willproduce results which cannot be foreseenC) will helppeople to make the right choice in advanceD) willbring about disturbing results2. It can be inferred from the passage thatscientists of the 18th century .A) thought that they knew a great deal andcould solve most problems of scienceB) wereafraid of facing up to the realities of scientific researchC) knew thatthey were ignorant and wanted to know more about natureD) did moreharm than good in promoting man's understanding of nature3. Which of thefollowing statemcnts is NOT true of scientists in earlier times?A) Theyinvented false theories to explain things they didn't understand.B) Theyfalsely claimed to know all about nature.C) They didnot believe in results from scientific observation.D) They paidlittle attention to the problems they didn't understand.4. What is theauthor's attitude towards science?A) He isdepressed because of the ignorance of scientists.B) He isdoubtful because of the enormous difficulties confronting it.C) He is confidentthough he is aware of the enormous difficulties confronting it.D) He is delighted because of theilluminating scientific findings.5. The authorbelieves that ______ .A) man canfind solutions to whatever questions concerning nature he can think upB) man can not solve all the problems he canthink up because of the limits of human intellectC) sooner or later man canthink up all the questions concerning nature and answer themD) questions concerningconsciousness are outside the scope of scientific research1．B答案见第2段第1句。