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 hours
a night because they
had _______ .
A) no drive and ambition B) noelectric lighting
C) the best sleep habits D)nothing to do in the evening
2. According to Dr. David, Americans _______ .
A) are ideally vigorous even under the pressure of life
B) of ienneglect the consequences of sleep deficit
C) do not know how to relax themselves properly
D) can get by on 6.5 hours of sleep
3. Many Americans believe that _______ .
A) sleep is the first thing that can be sacrificed when one is busy
B) they need more sleep to cope with the complexities of everyday life
C) to sleep is something one can do at any time of the day
D) enough sleep promotes people's drive and ambition
4. The word “subjects” (Line 1, Para. 4) refers to______ .
A) the performance tests used in the study of sleep deficit
B) special branches of knowledge that are being studied
C) people whose behavior or reactions are being studied
D) the psychological consequences of sleep deficit
5. It can be concluded from the passage that one should sleep as many hours as is necessary to ______ .
A) improve one's memory dramatically
B) be considered dynamic by other people
C) maintain one's daily schedule
D) feel energetic and perform adequately
2013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)questioning
C) approving D)objective
2. By "held back" (Line I) the authormeans ______ .
A) made to remain in the same classes
B) forced to study in the lower classes
C) drawn to their studies
D) prevented from advancing
3. The author argues that a teacher's chief concernshould be the development of the
student's _______ .
A) personal qualities and social skills
B) total personality
C) learning ability and communicative skills
D) intellectual ability
4. 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 class
B) recommend pair work and group work forclassroom activities
C) offer advice on the proper use of thelibrary
D) emphasize the importance of appropriateformal classroom teaching
2013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 has
caused 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 art
B) hasprevented wars by avoiding written communication
C) has madethe world different from what it was
D) hascaused wars by magnifying and extending human conflicts
3. The telephone hasintensified conflicts among people because ______ .
A) itincreases the danger of war
B) itprovides services to both the good and the malicious
C) it makesdistant communication easier
D) it breaksup the multi-generational household
4. The author describes thetelephone as impartial because it _______ .
A) saveslives of people in remote places
B) enablespeople to live alone if they want to
C) spreadsboth love and ill will
D) replacesmuch written communication
5. The writer's attitudetowards the use of the telephone is _______
A) affectionate B)disapproving
C) approving D)neutral
It 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, we
either 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 Enlightenment
B) willproduce results which cannot be foreseen
C) will helppeople to make the right choice in advance
D) willbring about disturbing results
2. 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 science
B) wereafraid of facing up to the realities of scientific research
C) knew thatthey were ignorant and wanted to know more about nature
D) did moreharm than good in promoting man's understanding of nature
3. 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 up
B) man can not solve all the problems he canthink up because of the limits of human intellect
C) sooner or later man canthink up all the questions concerning nature and answer them
D) questions concerningconsciousness are outside the scope of scientific research
1．B答案见第2段第1句。

18、19世纪的时候，首先是因为没有电灯照明，所以人们晚上才无事可做，只好早早睡觉。

而不是D项所说，是由于无事可做才多睡。

2．B全篇多处提到Dr.David的看法，在文中找到有Dr.David说话的地方，综合比较一下，不难看出Dr.David认为美国人经常忽视睡眠不足的后果。

3．A答案见第2段倒数第1、2句和第3段第1、2句。

4．C最后一段一开始就讲，为了确定睡眠不足所产生的后果，研究人员让subjects通过一系列心理和行为的测试，要求他们把一栏数字相加或者回忆刚读过的文章。

这样看来，subjects应该是指人了。

5．D推理题，依据见本文最后两句话。

其实，也只有D项才把睡眠充足所带来的好处讲得最完整。

1． C 本题问作者对混合编班持什么态度，属主旨性问题。

作者在文章第一句就已表明，他们不认为混合式教学对聪明的孩子会有多大妨碍。

第二段第一句又表明了作者对按智力编班持反对态度。

第二段最后一句更明确指出，混合编班有利于各种能力和素质的培养。

2． D 本题为词汇题。

“held back”在这里意为“阻挡、阻止...发展”。

3． B 本题为推理题。

要答对此题，考生应读懂文章第二段的内容。

该段讲，intellectualability或academicability只是 totalpersonality（总体素质）的一部分，该段还讲，我们也重视个人品质和社会能力的培养，这也是total personality 中的一部分。

因此，可以推断，教师们主要应当关心学生们total personality的发展。

4． D 细节题。

A项和C项在第三段都已提到，而B项learn to develop their reasoningability则包含在该段Theyalso learn how to cope with personal problems as well as learnin how to think,to make decisions, to analyse and evaluate 的意思之中。

D项是该段唯一没有提到的。

5．A 本题为主旨题。

B、C、D项均为混班教学的一些具体作法，不能以偏概全，因此不能说是作者写此文的目的。

作者在文章中列举了一些事例来说明按能力编班的弊端，同时也提出了混合编班的好处，因此，A项应是作者写此文的目的。

1．D 本文主要讲了电话的发展对人类生活与活动所产生的正负两方面的影响。

2．C 本题问及电话的作用。

A项与原文意思相反，B、D两项虽然在文中提及，但仅仅是作者的猜测，还无法得到证实（not provably）。

3．B 本题问电话加深人们冲突的原因是什么。

设题区在本文后半部分。

真正的原因是，作为一种通讯工具，电话既可服务于好人，也可为坏人所利用，这样才使人们之间的冲突的加深成为可能。

C项并不是加深冲突的真正原因，因为
电话的便捷虽然使加深冲突有可能，但同时也为救人性命提供了便利。

4．C 答案依据在本文最后一句。

该句的大意是，电话不偏不倚地传播着科学家的学问，无知者的胡言，仁者的善心，坏人的恶意。

只有C项与原文意思最贴近。

5．D 作者的态度显然是客观而中立的。

因为作者在文中对电话给人类带来的利弊都有所陈述。

1．B 推理题，答题依据在本文第1句：科学的前景如何？这个问题实难预测。

如果是真正的科学，就不能进行预测。

2．A 推理题，答题依据在本文第2段前半部分。

这一部分提到，我们对自然界所知甚少，作者认为这是过去一百年以来生物学的重大发现。

从这一方面讲，这是一个具有启发意义的消息。

如果18世纪最聪明的启蒙运动者被告知我们现在是多么无知，多么对人类的未来感到茫然，他一定会惊讶不已。

由此可以推断，他们当时自认为所知很多，能够解决大部分的科学问题。

3．C 设题区在第2段后半部分。

A、B、D项在该部分都有涉及，只有C项没有提到。

4．C 作者对科学所持的态度可以从本文最后两句看出来：虽然他意识到科学面临着巨大的困难，但还是很有信心。

5．A 推理题，依据见末段第2句：只要是人们能想到的问题，迟早都会得到解答。

B项的意思是，由于人的智力有限，他并非能解决他能够想到的所有问题，这与原文意思不符。