英语四级阅读训练

1

Merchant and passenger ships are generally required to have a life preserver for every person aboard and in many cases, a certain percentage of smaller sizes for children. According to United States requirements, life preservers must design, reversible capable of being quickly adjusted to fit the uninitiated individual, and must be so designed as to support the wearer in the water in an upright or slightly backward position.

Sufficient buoyancy(浮力) to support the wearer should be retained by the life preserver after 48 hours in the water, and it should be reliable even after long period of storage. Thus it should be made of materials resistant to sunlight, gasoline, and oils, and it should be not easily set on fire.?The position in which the life preserver will support a person who jumps or falls into the water is most important, as is its tendency to turn the wearer in the water from a face-down position to an upright or slightly backward position, with his face clear of the water, even when the wearer is exhausted or unconscious.

The method of adjustment to the body should be simple, and self-evident to uninitiated persons even in the dark under the confused conditions, which follow a disaster. Thus, the life be reversible that it is nearly impossible to get it on wrong. Catches, straps, and ties should be kept to a minimum. In addition, the life preserver must be adjustable to the wide variety of shapes and sizes of wearers, since this greatly affects the position of floating and the self-righting qualities. A suitable life also be comfortable to wear at all times, in and out of the water, not so heavy as to encourage to take it off on shipboard while the ship is in danger, nor so burdensome that it hinders a person in the water while trying to swim.

1. The passage is mainly about____.

A) the uses of life preservers C) the materials for life preservers

B) the design of life preservers D) the buoyancy of life preservers

2. According to the passage, a life be first of all ____.

A) adjustable B) comfortable C) self-evident D) self-righting

3. United States Coast Guard does NOT require the life preserver to be made ____.

A) with as few strings as possible C) according to each wearer's size

B) capable of being worn on both sides D) comfortable and light to wear

4. By “the uninitiated individual” (Para. 1, Line. 4) the author refers to the person ____.

A) who has not been instructed how to use a life preserver

B) who has a little experience in using a life preserver

C) who uses a life preserver without permission

D) who becomes nervous before a disaster

5. What would happen if a person were supported by the life preserver in a wrong position?

A) The waves would move him backwards. C) He would immediately sink to the bottom.

B) The water would choke him. D) He would be exhausted or unconscious. 答案与解析：BDCAD

2

Classified advertising is that advertising which is grouped in certain sections of the paper and is thus distinguished from display advertising. Such groupings as “Help Wanted”, “Real Estate”, “Lost and Found” are made, the rate charged being less than for display advertising. Classified advertisements are a convenience to the reader and a saving to the advertiser.

The reader who is interested in a particular kind of advertisement finds all advertisements of that type grouped for him. The advertisers may, on this account, use a very small advertisement if it were placed among larger advertisements in the paper. It is evident that the reader approaches the classified advertisement in a different frame of mind from that in which he approaches the other advertisements in the paper. He turns to a page of classified advertisements to search for the particular advertisement that will meet his needs. As his attention is voluntary, the advertiser does not need to rely too much extent on display type to get the reader’s attention. Formerly all classified advertisements were of the same size an d did not have display type. With the increase in the number of such advertisements, however, each advertiser within a certain group is competing with others in the same group for the reader’s attention. In many cases, the result has been an increase in th e size of the space used and the addition of headlines and pictures. In that way, the classified advertisement has in reality advertisement. This is particularly true of real estate advertising?

1. All of the following facts are advantages of classified advertisement for advertisers EXCEPT that ____.

A) classified advertisement charges less money

B) it is easier to attract the attention of the target consumers

C) it provides more information for the readers

D) it does not have to rely too much on display type

2. One of the examples given of types of classified advertisement is ____

A) houses for sale C) people who are lost

B) people who are asking for help D) job vacancies

3. What sort of attitude do people have when they look at classified advertisement, according to the writer?

A) They are in the frame of mind to buy anything.

B) They are looking for something they need.

C) They feel lost because there are so many advertisements.

D) They feel the same as when they look at display advertisements.

4．According to the passage, in which way have the classified advertisements changed nowadays?

A) They depend more on display type. C) They are divided into more groups.

B) More money is charged for them. D) They are less formal.

5．Why have classified advertisements changed in appearance?

A) Because people no longer want headlines and pictures.

B) Because real estate advertising is particularly truthful now.

C) Because the increase in the number of such advertisements means they have to be small.

D) Because there are more advertisements now and more competition among advertisers. 答案与解析：CABAD

3

When a consumer finds that an item she or he bought is faulty or in some other way does not live up to the manufacturer's claims, the first step is to present the warranty, or any other records which might help, at the store of purchase. In most cases, this action will produce results. However, if it does not, there are various means the consumer may use to gain satisfaction. A simple and common method used by many consumers is to complain directly to the store manager. In general, the “higher up” his or her complaint, the faster he or she can expect it to be settled. In such a case, it is usually settled in the consumer's favor, assuming he or she has a just claim.

Consumers should complain in person whenever possible, but if they cannot get to the place of purchase, it is acceptable to phone or write the complaint in a letter.

Complaining is usually most effective when it is done politely but firmly, and especially when the consumer can demonstrate what is wrong with the item in question. If this cannot be done, the consumer will succeed best by presenting specific information as to what is wrong, rather than by making general statements. For example, “The left speaker does not work at all and the sound coming out of the right one is unclear” is better than “This stereo does not work”. The store manager may advice the consumer to write to the manufacturer. If so, the consumer should do this, stating the complaint as politely and firmly as possible. If a polite complaint does not achieve the desired result, the consumer can go to a step further. She or he can threaten to take the seller to court or report the seller to a private or public organization responsible for protecting consumer's rights.

1. When a consumer finds that his or her in it, the first thing he or she should do is to ____.

A) complain personally to the manager

B) threaten to take the matter to court

C) write a firm letter of complaint to the store of purchase

D) show some written proof of the purchase to the store

2. How can a consumer make his or her complaint more effective, according to the passage?

A) Explain exactly what is wrong with the item.

B) Threaten to take the seller to court.

C) Make polite and general statements about the problem.

D) Avoid having direct contact with the store manager.

3. According to the passage, which of the following is suggested as the last alternative that consumers may turn to?

A) Complain to the store manager in person.

B) Complain to the manufacturer.

C) Write a complaint letter to the manager.

D) Turn to the Consumers’ Rights Protection Organization for help.

4. The phrase “live up to” in this context means ____.

A) meet the standard of C) fulfill the demands of

B) realize the purpose of D) keep the promise of

5．The passage tells us ____.

A) how to settle a consumer’s complaint about a faulty item

B) how to make an effective complaint about a faulty item

C) how to avoid buying a faulty item

D) how to deal with complaints from customers

答案与解析：DADAB

4

The table before which we sit may be, as the scientist maintains, composed of dancing atoms, but it does not reveal itself to us as anything of the kind, and it is not with dancing atoms but a solid and motionless object that we live. So remote is this “real” table——and most of the other “realities” with which science deals——that it cannot be discussed in terms which have any human value, and though it may receive our purely intellectual credence it cannot be woven into the pattern of life as it is led, in contradistinction to life as we attempt it. Vibrations in the ether(以太) are so totally unlike the color, purple that the gulf between them cannot be bridged, and they are, to all intents and purposes，not one but two separate things of which the second and less “real” must be the most significant for us. And just as the sensation which has led us to attribute all objective reality to a non-existent thing which we called “purple”is more important f or human life than the conception of vibrations of a certain frequency; so too the belief in God; however ill founded, has been more important in the life of man than the germ theory of true the latter may be.

We may, if we like, speak of consequence, as certain mystics love to do, of the different levels or orders of truth. We may adopt what is essentially a Platonistic (布拉图式的) trick of thought and insist upon postulating the existence of external realities which correspond to the needs and modes of human feeling and which, so we may insist, have their being in some part of the universe unreachable by science. But to do so is to make an unwarrantable

assumption and to be guilty of the metaphysical fallacy of failing to distinguish between a truth of feelin g and that other sort of truth which is described as “truth of correspondence” and it is better perhaps, at least for those of us who have grown up in thought, to steer clear of such confusions and to rest content with the admission that, though the universe with which science deals is the real universe, yet we do not and cannot have any but fleeting and imperfect contacts with it; that the most important part of our lives-our sensations, emotions, desires and aspirations-take place in a universe of illusions which science can attenuate or destroy, but which it is powerless to enrich.

1. The author suggests that in order to bridge the puzzling difference between scientific truth and the world of illusion, the reader should____.

A) try to rid himself of his world of illusion C) apply the scientific method

B) accept his words as being one of illusion D) learn to acknowledge both

2. Judging from the ideas and tone of the selection, one may reasonably guess that the author is ____.

A) a humanist B) a pantheist C) a nuclear physicist D) a doctor of medicine

3. According to this passage, a scientist would conceive of a “table” as being ____.

A) a solid motionless object C) a form fixed in space and time

B) certain chara cteristic vibrations in “ether”D) a mass of atoms in motion

4. The topic of this selection is____.

A) the distortion of reality by science C) Platonic and contemporary views of truth

B) the confusion caused by emotions D) the place of scientific truth in our lives

5. By “objective reality” (Last line, Para. 1) the author means____.

A) scientific reality C) the viewer's experience

B) a symbolic existence D) reality colored by emotion

答案与解析：BADDA

5

Psychologists take opposing views of how external rewards, from warm praise to old cash, affect motivation and creativity. Behaviorists, who study the relation between actions and, argue that rewards can improve performance at work and school. Some other researchers who study various aspects of mental life, maintain those rewards often destroy creativity byencouraging dependence on approval and gifts from others.

The latter view has gained many supporters, especially among educators. But the careful use of small monetary rewards sparks in grade-school children suggesting that properly presented inducements indeed aid inventiveness, according to a study in the June Journal Personality and Social Psychology.

“If they know they're working for a reward and can focus on a relatively challengin g task, they show the most creativity,” says Robert Esenberger of the University of Delaware in Newark. “But it's easy to kill creativity by giving rewards for poor performance or creating too much anticipation for rewards.”

A teacher who continually draws attention to rewards or who hands out high grades for ordinary achievement ends up with uninspired students, Esenberger holds. As an example of the latter point, he notes growing efforts at major universities to tighten grading standards and restore falling grades.

In earlier grades, the use of so-called token economics, in which students handle challenging problems and receive performance-based points toward valued rewards, shows promise in raising effort and creativity, the Delaware psychologist claims.

1. Psychologists are divided with regard to their attitudes toward ____.

A) the choice between spiritual encouragement and monetary rewards

B) the appropriate amount of external rewards

C) the study of relationship between actions and

D) the effects of external rewards on students' performance

2. What is the view held by many educators concerning external rewards for students?

A) They approve of external rewards.

B) They don't think external rewards.

C) They have doubts about external rewards.

D) They believe external rewards can motivate small children, but not college students.

3. According to the result of the study mentioned in the passage, what should educators do to stimulate motivation and creativity?

A) Give rewards for performances which deserve them.

B) Always promise rewards.

C) Assign tasks which are not very challenging.

D) Be more lenient to students when mistakes are made.

4. It can be inferred from the passage that major universities are trying to tighten their grading standards because they believe ____.

A) rewarding poor performance may kill the creativity of students’

B) punishment is more effective than rewarding

C) failing uninspired students helps improve their overall academic standards

D) discouraging the students anticipation for easy rewards is matter of urgency

5．Which of the following facts about “token economics” is not correct?

A) Students are assigned challenging tasks.

B) Rewards are given for good performances.

C) Students are evaluated according to the effort they put into the task.

D) With token economics, students’ creativity can be enhanced.

答案与解析：DCABC

6

Among the more colorful characters of Leadville’s golden age were H.A.W.Tabor and his second wife, Elizabeth McCourt, better known as “Baby Doe”. Their history is fast becoming one of the legends of the Old West. Horace Austin Warner Tabor was a school teacher in Vermont. With his first wife and two children he left Vermont by covered wagon in 1855 to homestead in Kansas. Perhaps he did not find farming to his liking, or perhaps he was lured by rumors of fortunes to be made in Colorado mines. At any rate, a few years later he moved west to the small Colorado mining camp known as California Gulch, which he later renamed Leadville when he became its leading citizen. “Great deposits of lead are sure to be f ound here.” he said.

As it turned out, it was silver, not lead, that was to make Leadville’s fortune and wealth. Tabor knew little about mining himself, so he opened a general store, which sold everything from boots to salt, flour, and tobacco.『It was his custom to “grubstake” prospective miners, in other words, to supply them with food and supplies, or“grub”, while they looked for ore, in return for which he would get a share in the mine if one was discovered.』①He did this for a number of years, but no one that he aided ever found anything of value.

Finally one day in the year 1878, so the story goes, two miners came in and asked for “grub”. Tabor had decided to quit supplying it because he had lost too much money that way. These were persistent, however, a nd Tabor was too busy to argue with them. “Oh help yourself. One more time won’t make any difference,” He said and went on selling shoes and hats to other customers. The two miners took $17 worth of supplies, in return for which they gave Tabor a one-third interest in their findings. They picked a barren place on the mountain side and began to dig. After nine days they struck a rich vein of silver. Tabor bought the shares of the other two men, and so the mine belonged to him alone. This mine, known as the “Pittsburgh Mine,” made 1 300 000 for Tabor in return for his $17 investment.

Later Tabor bought the Matchless Mine on another barren hillside just outside the town for $117 000. This turned out to be even more fabulous than the Pittsburgh, yielding $35 000 worth of silver per day at one time. Leadville grew. Tabor became its first mayor, and later became lieutenant governor of the state.

1. Leadville got its name for the following reasons EXCEPT ______.

A. because Tabor became its leading citizen

B. because great deposits of lead is expected to be found there

C. because it could bring good fortune to Tabor

D. because it was renamed

2. The word “grubstake” in paragraph 2 means ______.

A. to supply miners with food and supplies

B. to open a general store

C. to do one’s contribution to the development of the mine

D. to supply miners with food and supplies and in return get a share in the mine, if one was discovered

3. Tabor made his first fortune ______.

A. by supplying two prospective miners and getting in return a one-third interest in the findings

B. because he was persuaded by the two miners to quit supplying

C. by buying the shares of the other

D. as a land speculator

4. The underlying reason for Tabor’s life career is ______.

A. purely accidental

B. based on the analysis of miner’s being very poor and their possibility of discovering profitable mining site

C. through the help from his second wife

D. he planned well and accomplished targets step by step

5. If this passage is the first part of an article,who might be introduced in the following part?

A. Tabor’s life. C. Other colorful characters.

B. Tabor’s second wife, Elizabeth McCourt. D. Tabor’s other careers.

答案与详解：CDABB