最新专四模拟试题之阅读共30篇

专四模拟试题（阅读篇1）

专四模拟试题（阅读篇1）

Glacier National Park in Montana shares boundaries with Canada, an American Indian reservation, and a national forest. Along the North Fork of the Flathead River, the park also borders about 17,000 acres of private lands that are currently used for ranching, timber, and agriculture. This land is an important part of the habitat and migratory routes for several endangered species that frequent the park. These private lands are essentially the only ones available for development in the region.

With encouragement from the park, local landowners initiated a land use planning effort to guide the future of the North Fork. The park is a partner in an inter local agreement that calls for resource managing agencies to work together and with the more than 400 private owners in the area. A draft plan has been prepared, with objective of maintaining traditional economic uses but limiting new development that would damage park resources. Voluntary action by landowners, in cooperation with the park and the county, is helping to restrict small lot subdivisions, maintain wildlife corridors, and minimize any harmful impact on the environment.

The willingness of local landowners to participate in this protection effort may have been stimulated by concerns that congress would impose a legislative solution. Nevertheless, many local residents want to retain the existing character of the area. Meetings between park officials and landowners have led to a dramatically improved understanding of all concerns.

1. The passage mainly discusses______.

A. the endangered species in Glacier National Park

B. the protection of lands surrounding Glacier National Park

C. conservation laws imposed by the state of Montana

D. conservation laws imposed by Congress

2. Why are the private lands surrounding Glacier National Park so important?

A. They function as a hunting preserve.

B. They are restricted to government use.

C. They are heavily populated.

D. They contain natural habitats of threatened species.

3. The relationship between park officials and neighboring landowners may best be described as______.

A. indifferent

B. intimate

C. cooperative

D. disappointing

4. It can be inferred from the passage that a major interest of the officials of Glacier National Park is to______.

A. limit land development around the park

B. establish a new park in Montana

C. influence national legislation

D. settle border disputes with Canada

答案解析：

1. B) 这是一道主旨题。通过阅读文章可知，为了保护冰川国家公园的濒危物种和资源，公园当局和地方土地所有者制订了限制土地使用计划，故答案为B。

2. D) 这是一道细节题。根据第一段第三句“This land is an important part of the habitat and migratory routes for several endangered species that frequent the park.”（这片土地是非常重要的，因为这里是几种经常光顾此公园的濒危物种的栖息地和迁徙路线。）可知选项D为正确答案。

3. C) 根据第二段可知，公园当局和地方土地所有者密切合作来保护资源，因此他们的关系是"cooperative" (合作性的)。

4. A) 这是一道推理题。根据第二段第三句和阅读全文，我们很容易就可以得到这样一个信息：为了保护自然资源和濒危物种，公园管理者限制那些会破坏资源的土地开发。因此选项A为正确答案。

专四模拟试题（阅读篇2）

Human beings have used tools for a very long time. In some parts of the world you can still find tools that people used more than two million years ago. They made these tools by hitting one stone against another. In this way, they broke off pieces from one of the stones. These chips of stone were usually sharp on one side. People used them for cutting meat and skin from dead animals, and also for making other tools out of wood.

Human beings needed to use tools because they did not have sharp teeth like other meat eating animals, such as lions and tigers. Tools helped people to get food more easily. Working with tools also helped to develop human intelligence. The human brain grew bigger, and human beings began to invent more and more tools and machines. The stone chip was one of the first tools that people used, and perhaps it is

the most important. Some scientists say that it was the key to success of mankind.

1. The stone chip is thought to be the most important tool because it ______.

A. was one of the first tools

B. developed human capabilities

C. led to the invention of machines

D. was crucial to the development of mankind

2. At the end of the passage the author seems to suggest that life in future is ______.

A. disastrous

B. unpredictable

C. exciting

D. colorful

. D) 2. B)

专四模拟试题（阅读篇3）

As many as one thousand years ago in the Southwest, the Hopi and Zuni Indians of North America were building with adobe－sun baked brick plastered with mud. Their homes looked remarkably like modern apartment houses. Some were four stories high and contained quarters for perhaps a thousand people, along with store rooms for grain and other goods. These buildings were usually put up against cliffs, both to make construction easier and for defense against enemies. They were really villages in themselves, as later Spanish explorers must have realized since they called them "pueblos", which is Spanish for town.

The people of the pueblos raised what are called"the three sisters" - corn, beans, and squash. They made excellent pottery and wove marvelous baskets, some so fine that they could hold water. The Southwest has always been a dry country, where water is scarce. The Hopi and Zuni brought water from streams to their fields and gardens through irrigation ditches. Water was so important that it played a major role in their religion. They developed elaborate ceremonies and religious rituals to bring rain.

The way of life of less settled groups was simpler and more strongly influenced by nature. Small tribes such as the Shoshone and Ute wandered the dry and mountainous lands between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. They gathered seeds and hunted small animals such as small rabbits and snakes. In the Far North the ancestors of today’s Inuit hunted seals, walruses, and the great whales. They lived right on the frozen seas in shelters called igloos built of blocks of packed snow. When summer came, they fished for salmon and hunted the lordly caribou.

The Cheyenne, Pawnee, and Sioux tribes, known as the Plains Indians, lived on the grasslands between the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi River. They hunted bison, commonly called the buffalo. Its meat was the chief food of these tribes, and its hide was used to make their clothing and covering of their tents and tipis.

1. What does the passage mainly discuss?

A. The architecture of early American Indian buildings.

B. The movement of American Indians across North America.

C. Ceremonies and rituals of American Indians.

D. The way of life of American Indian tribes in early North America.

2. It can be inferred from the passage that the dwellings of the Hopi and Zuni

were______.

A. very small

B. highly advanced

C. difficult to defend

D. quickly constructed

答案

答案：

1. D)

2. B)

专四模拟试题（阅读篇4）

Glacier National Park in Montana shares boundaries with Canada, an American Indian reservation, and a national forest. Along the North Fork of the Flathead River, the park also borders about 17,000 acres of private lands that are currently used for ranching, timber, and agriculture. This land is an important part of the habitat and migratory routes for several endangered species that frequent the park. These private lands are essentially the only ones available for development in the region.

With encouragement from the park, local landowners initiated a land use planning effort to guide the future of the North Fork. The park is a partner in an inter local agreement that calls for resource managing agencies to work together and with the more than 400 private owners in the area. A draft plan has been prepared, with objective of maintaining traditional economic uses but limiting new development that would damage park resources. Voluntary action by landowners, in cooperation with the park and the county, is helping to restrict small lot subdivisions, maintain wildlife corridors, and minimize any harmful impact on the environment.

The willingness of local landowners to participate in this protection effort may have been stimulated by concerns that congress would impose a legislative solution. Nevertheless, many local residents want to retain the existing character of the area. Meetings between park officials and landowners have led to a dramatically improved understanding of all concerns.

1. The passage mainly discusses______.

A. the endangered species in Glacier National Park

B. the protection of lands surrounding Glacier National Park

C. conservation laws imposed by the state of Montana

D. conservation laws imposed by Congress

2. Why are the private lands surrounding Glacier National Park so important?

A. They function as a hunting preserve.

B. They are restricted to government use.

C. They are heavily populated.

D. They contain natural habitats of threatened species.

3. The relationship between park officials and neighboring landowners may best be described as______.

A. indifferent

B. intimate

C. cooperative

D. disappointing

4. It can be inferred from the passage that a major interest of the officials of Glacier National Park is to______.

A. limit land development around the park

B. establish a new park in Montana

C. influence national legislation

D. settle border disputes with Canada

1. B)

2. D)

3. C)

4. A)

专四模拟试题（阅读篇5）

About 5,000 years ago, the Egyptians and other people in the Near East began to use pictures as kind of writing. They drew simple pictures or signs to represent things and ideas, and also to represent the sounds of their language. The signs these people used became a kind of alphabet.

The Egyptians used to record information and to tell stories by putting picture writing and pictures together. When an important person died, scenes and stories from his life were painted and carved on the walls of the place where he was buried. Some of these pictures are like modern comic strip stories. It has been said that Egypt is the home of the comic strip. But, for the Egyptians, pictures still had magic power. So they did not try to make their way of writing simple. The ordinary people could not understand it.

By the year 1,000 BC, people who lived in the area around the Mediterranean Sea had developed a simpler system of writing. The signs they used were very easy to write, and there were fewer of them than in the Egyptian system. This was because each sign, or letter, represented only one sound in their language. The Greeks developed this system and formed the letters of the Greek alphabet. The Romans copied the idea, and the Roman alphabet is now used all over the world.

These days, we can write down a story, or record information, without using pictures. But we still need pictures of all kinds: drawing, photographs, signs and diagrams. We find them everywhere: in books and newspapers, in the street, and on the walls of the places where we live and work. Pictures help us to understand and remember things more easily, and they can make a story much more interesting.

1. Pictures of animals were painted on the walls of caves in France and Spain because______.

A. the hunters wanted to see the pictures

B. the painters were animal lovers

C. the painters wanted to show imagination

D. the pictures were thought to be helpful

2. The Greek alphabet was simpler than the Egyptian system for all the following reasons EXCEPT that______.

A. the former was easy to write

B. there were fewer signs in the former

C. the former was easy to pronounce

D. each sign stood for only one sound

3. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. The Egyptian signs later became a particular alphabet.

B. The Egyptians liked to write comic strip stories.

C. The Roman alphabet was developed from the Egyptian one.

D. The Greeks copied their writing system from the Egyptians.

4. In the last paragraph, the author thinks that pictures ______.

A. should be made comprehensible

B. should be made interesting

C. are of much use in our life

D. have disappeared from our life

1. D)

2. C)

3. A)

4. C)

专四模拟试题（阅读篇6）

There are many theories about the beginning of drama in ancient Greece. The one most widely accepted today is based on the assumption that drama evolved from ritual. The argument for this view goes as follows. In the beginning, human beings viewed the natural forces of the world, even the seasonal changes, as unpredictable, and they sought through various means, to control these unknown and feared powers. Those measures which appeared to bring the desired results were then retained and repeated until they hardened into fixed rituals. Eventually stories arose which explained or veiled the mysteries of the rites. As time passed some rituals were abandoned, but the stories, later called myths, persisted and provided material for art and drama.

Those who believed that drama evolved out of ritual also argue that those rites contained the seed of theater because music, dance, masks, and costumes were almost always used. Furthermore, a suitable site had to be provided for performances, and

when the entire community did not participate, a clear division was usually made between the "acting area" and the "auditorium". In addition, there were performers, and, since considerable importance was attached to avoiding mistakes in the enactment of rites, religious leaders usually assumed that task. Wearing masks and costumes, they often impersonated other people, animals, or supernatural beings, and mimed the desired effect-success in hunt or battle, the coming rain, the revival of the Sun-as an actor might. Eventually such dramatic representations were separated from religious activities.

Another theory traces the theater’s origin from the human interest in storytelling. According to this view, tales (about the hunt, war, or other feats) are gradually elaborated, at first through the use of impersonation, action, and dialogue by a narrator and then through the assumption of each of the roles by a different person. A closely related theory traces theater to those dances that are primarily rhythmical and gymnastic or that are imitations of animal movements and sounds.

1. What does the passage mainly discuss?

A. The origins of theater.

B. The role of ritual in modern dance.

C. The importance of storytelling.

D. The variety of early religious activities.

2. What aspect of drama does the author discuss in the first paragraph?

A. The reason drama is often unpredictable.

B. The seasons in which dramas were performed.

C. The connection between myths and dramatic plots.

D. The importance of costumes in early drama.

3. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a common element of theater and ritual?

A. Dance.

B. Costumes.

C. Music.

D. Magic.

4. According to the passage, what is the main difference between ritual and drama?

A. Ritual uses music whereas drama does not.

B. Ritual is shorter than drama.

C. Ritual requires fewer performers than drama.

D. Ritual has a religious purpose and drama does not.

5. The passage supports which of the following statements?

A. No one really knows how the theater began.

B. Myths are no longer represented dramatically.

C. Storytelling is an important part of dance.

D. Dramatic activities require the use of costumes.

1. A)

2. C)

3. D)

4. D

5. A)

专四模拟试题（阅读篇7）

Certainly no creature in the sea is odder than the common sea cucumber. All living creature，especially human beings，have their peculiarities，but everything about the little sea cucumber seems unusual. What else can be said about a bizarre animal that，among other eccentricities，eats mud，feeds almost continuously day and night but can live without eating for long periods，and can be poisonous but is considered supremely edible by gourmets？

For some fifty million years，despite all its eccentricities，the sea cucumber has subsisted on its diet of mud. It is adaptable enough to live attached to rocks by its tube feet，under rocks in shallow water，or on the surface of mud flats. Common in cool water on both Atlantic and Pacific shores，it has the ability to suck up mud or sand and digest whatever nutrients are present.

Sea cucumbers come in a variety of colors，ranging from black to reddish brown to sand color and nearly white. One form even has vivid purple tentacles. Usually the creatures are cucumber shaped-hence their name-and because they are typically rock inhabitants，this shape，combined with flexibility，enables them to squeeze into crevices where they are safe from predators and ocean currents.

Although they have voracious appetites，eating day and night，sea cucumbers have the capacity to become quiescent and live at a low metabolic rate-feeding sparingly or not at all for long periods，so that the marine organisms that provide their food have a chance to multiply. If it were not for this faculty，they would devour all the food available in a short time and would probably starve themselves out of existence.

But the most spectacular thing about the sea cucumber is the way it defends itself. Its major enemies are fish and crabs，when attacked，it squirts all its internal organs into water. It also casts off attached structures such as tentacles. The sea cucumber will eviscerate and regenerate itself if it is attacked or even touched；it will do the same if the surrounding water temperature is too high or if the water becomes too polluted.

1. According to the passage，why is the shape of sea cucumbers important？

A. It helps them to digest their food.

B. It helps them to protect themselves from danger.

C. It makes it easier for them to move through the mud.

D. It makes them attractive to fish.

2. The fourth paragraph of the passage primarily discusses______.

A. the reproduction of sea cucumbers

B. the food sources of sea cucumbers

C. the eating habits of sea cucumbers

D. threats to sea cucumbers' existence

3. What can be inferred about the defence mechanisms of the sea cucumber？

A. They are very sensitive to surrounding stimuli.

B. They are almost useless.

C. They require group cooperation.

D. They are similar to those of most sea creatures.

4. Which of the following would NOT cause a sea cucumber to release its internal

organs into the water？

A. A touch

B. Food

C. Unusually warm water

D. Pollution.

1. B）

2. C）

3. A）

4. B）

专四模拟试题（阅读篇8）

Municipal sewage is of relatively recent origin as a pollutant. It was first brought to public attention in the 19th century by a London physician who showed that the city's cholera outbreak had been caused by just one contaminated well. Even though the contamination of drinking water by disease germs has been nearly eliminated in this country, hundreds of communities are still discharging raw sewage into streams and rivers.When we consider that this sewage contains effluents from toilets, hospitals, laundries,industrial plants, etc., then the potential of the pollutants as a health hazard

is apparent.

The problem of municipal sewage disposal is complicated by the fact that, years ago, mostcities combined their storm and waste disposal sewers. Many of these combined systems work well, but others cannot cope with sudden heavy rains. When such storms occur, water mixed with sewage may flood and disable treatment plants unless bypassed, untreated, into a stream. In either case, the people may have little protection for several days from these wastes that may contain disease germs.Even if adequately treated to eliminate the health hazard, sewage is aesthetically

undesirable because of odors and colors produced. Detergents have posed a particular disposal problem. Although there is no indication that they are injurious to health, they can cause foaming, which can clog treatment plants and, at the least, spoil the scenic beauty of streams.Rural and suburban residents should be aware that septic tanks and cesspools are a potential source of pollution to ground water supplies. This is especially true in the suburban areas with a high population density and with no municipal sewage disposal and treatment system available. In some areas, sewage disposal is accomplished by cesspools. Soil research is furnishing guidelines for more

effective and safer use of systems such as these.

1. This passage is concerned primarily with the _____ .

A. problems of waste disposal

B. dangers of drinking from wells

C. turbidity of polluted water

D. outbreak of cholera

2. The author mentions the London cholera epidemic to _____ .

A. prove that the city refused to deal with pollution

B. prove that medical science once knew little about pollution

C. introduce the idea of contaminated water supplies

D. recall a historical fact

3. In densely populated suburban areas, a danger exits from _____ .

A. streams that do not flow directly to open bodies of water

B. cesspools and septic tanks that contaminate water supplies

C. storm and waste disposal sewers that have been combined

D. the undesirable odors of sewage

4. In developing the main point, the author makes use of _____ .

A. scientific arguments

B. convincing testimony

C. common sense observations

D. analogy

1.A。

2.C。

3. B。

4. C。

专四模拟试题（阅读篇9）

Certainly no creature in the sea is odder than the common sea cucumber. All living creature, especially human beings, have their peculiarities, but everything about the little sea cucumber seems unusual. What else can be said about a bizarre animal that, among other eccentricities, eats mud, feeds almost continuously day and night but can live without eating for long periods, and can be poisonous but is considered supremely edible by gourmets? For some fifty million years, despite all its eccentricities, the sea cucumber has subsisted on its diet of mud. It is adaptable enough to live attached to rocks by its tube feet, under rocks in shallow water, or on the surface of mud flats.

Common in cool water on both Atlantic and Pacific shores, it has the ability to suck up mud or sand and digest whatever nutrients are present. Sea cucumbers come in a variety of colors, ranging from black to reddish brown to sand color and nearly white. One form even has vivid purple tentacles. Usually the creatures are cucumber shaped—hence their name—and because they are typically rock inhabitants, this shape, combined with flexibility, enables them to squeeze into crevices where they are safe from predators and ocean currents. Although they have voracious appetites, eating day and night, sea cucumbers have the capacity to become quiescent and live at a low metabolic rate—feeding sparingly or not at all for long periods, so that the marine organisms that provide their food have a chance to multiply. If it were not for this faculty, they would devour all the food available in a short time and would probably starve themselves out of existence. But the most spectacular thing about the sea cucumber is the way it defends itself. Its major enemies are fish and crabs, when attacked, it squirts all its internal organs into water. It also casts off attached structures such as tentacles. The sea cucumber will eviscerate and regenerate itself if it is attacked or even touched; it will do the same if the surrounding water temperature is

too high or if the water becomes too polluted.

1. According to the passage, why is the shape of sea cucumbers important?

A. It helps them to digest their food.

B. It helps them to protect themselves from danger.

C. It makes it easier for them to move through the mud.

D. It makes them attractive to fish.

2. The fourth paragraph of the passage primarily discusses ____.

A. the reproduction of sea cucumbers

B. the food sources of sea cucumbers

C. the eating habits of sea cucumbers

D. threats to sea cucumbers’ existence

3. What can be inferred about the defence mechanisms of the sea cucumber?

A. They are very sensitive to surrounding stimuli.

B. They are almost useless.

C. They require group cooperation.

D. They are similar to those of most sea creatures.

4. Which of the following would NOT cause a sea cucumber to release its

internal organs into the water?

A. A touch.

B. Food.

C. Unusually warm water.

D. Pollution.

1. B)

2. C)

3. A)

4. B

专四模拟试题（阅读篇10）

Human beings have used tools for a very long time. In some parts of the world you can still find tools that people used more than two million years ago.

They made these tools by hitting one stone against another. In this way, they broke off pieces from one of the stones. These chips of stone were usually sharp on one side. People used them for cutting meat and skin from dead animals, and also for making

other tools out of wood. Human beings needed to use tools because they did not have sharp teeth like other meat eating animals, such as lions and tigers. Tools helped

people to get food more easily.

Working with tools also helped to develop human intelligence. The human brain grew bigger, and human beings began to invent more and more tools and machines.The stone chip was one of the first tools that people used, and perhaps it is the most important. Some scientists say that it was the key to success of mankind. Since 1960 a new kind of tool has appeared. This is the silicon chip—a little chip of silicon crystal. It is smaller than a fingernail, but it can store more than a million“bits” of information. It is an electronic brain. Every year these chips get cleverer, but their size gets smaller, and their cost gets less.

They are used in watches, calculators and intelligent machines that we can use in many ways. In the future we will not need to work with tools in the old way. Machines will do everything for us. They will even talk and play games with us. People will have plenty of spare time. But what will they do with it? Human beings used stone chips for more than two million years, but human life changed very little in that time. We have used silicon chips for only a few years, but life is changing faster every day. What will life be like twenty years from now? What will the world be like

two million years from now?

1. The stone chip is thought to be the most important tool because it ______.

A. was one of the first tools

B. developed human capabilities

C. led to the invention of machines

D. was crucial to the development of mankind

2. At the end of the passage the author seems to suggest that life in future is______.

A. disastrous

B. unpredictable

C. exciting

D. colorful

1. D)

2. B)

专四模拟试题（阅读篇11）

California is a land of variety and contrast. Almost every type of physical land feature, sort of arctic ice fields and tropical jungles can be found within its borders. Sharply contrasting types of land often lie very close to one another. People living in Bakersfield, for instance, can visit the Pacific Ocean and the coastal plain, the fertile San Joaquin Valley, the arid Mojave Desert, and the high Sierra Nevada, all within a radius of about 100 miles.

In other areas it is possible to go snow skiing in the morning and surfing in the evening of the same day, without having to travel long distance.

Contrast abounds in California. The highest point in the United States (outside Alaska) is in California, and so is the lowest point (including Alaska).Mount Whitney, 14,494 feet above sea level, is separated from Death Valley, 282 feet below sea level, by a distance of only 100 miles.

The two areas have a difference in altitude of almost three miles. California has deep, clear mountain lakes like Lake Tahoe, the deepest in the country, but it also has shallow, salty desert lakes. It has Lake Tulainyo, 12,020 feet above sea level, and the lowest lake in the country, the Salton Sea, 236 feet below sea level. Some of its lakes, like Owens Lake in Death Valley, are not lakes at all: they are dried-up lake beds. In addition to mountains, lakes, valleys, deserts, and plateaus, California has its Pacific coastline, stretching longer than the

1. Which of the following is the lowest point in the United States?

A. Lake Tulainyo.

B. Mojave desert.

C. Death Valley.

D. The Salton Sea.

2. Where is the highest point in the United States located?

A. Lake Tahoe.

B. Sierra Nevada.

C. Mount Whitney.

D. Alaska.

3. How far away is Death Valley from Mount Whitney?

A. About 3 miles.

B. Only 100 miles.

C. 282 feet.

D. 14,494 feet.

4. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage as being within

a radius of about 100 miles of Bakersfield? A. The Pacific Ocean.

B. San Joaquin Valley.

C. Mojave Desert.

D. Oregon and Washington.

5. Which statement best demonstrates that California is a land of variety

A. The highest lake in California is Lake Tulainyo.

B. It is possible to go surfing and snow skiing in some parts of California

without having to travel long distance.

C. Sierra Nevada, San Joaquin Valley, Mojave Desert and the Pacific Ocean

all lie within a radius of about 100 miles.

D. Owens Lake, in Death Valley, is not really a lake at all.

1. C)

2. D)

3. B)

4. D)

5. C)

专四模拟试题（阅读篇12）

Most earthquakes occur within the upper 15 miles of the earth's surface. But earthquakes can and do occur at all depths to about 460 miles. Their number decreases as the depth increases. At about 460 miles one earthquake occurs only every few years. Near the surface earthquakes may run as high as 100 in a month, but the yearly average does not vary much. In comparison with the total number of earthquakes each year, the number of disastrous earthquakes is very small.

The extent of the disaster in an earthquake depends on many factors. If you carefully build a toy house with an erect set, it will still stand no matter how much you shake the table. But if you build a toy house with a pack of cards, a slight shake of the table will make it fall. An earthquake in Agadir, Morocco, was not strong enough to be recorded on distant instruments, but it completely destroyed the city. Many stronger earthquakes have done comparatively little damage. If a building is well constructed and built on solid ground, it will resist an earthquake. Most deaths in earthquakes have been due to faulty building construction or poor building sites. A third and very serious factor is panic. When people rush out into narrow streets, more deaths will result.

The United Nations has played an important part in reducing the damage done by earthquakes. It has sent a team of experts to all countries known to be affected by earthquakes. Working with local geologists and engineers, the experts have studied the nature of the ground and the type of most practical building code for the local area. If followed, these suggestions will make disastrous earthquakes almost a thing of the past.

There is one type of earthquake disaster that little can be done about. This is the disaster caused by seismic sea waves, or tsunamis. (These are often called tidal waves, but the name is incorrect. They have nothing to do with tides.) In certain areas, earthquakes take place beneath the sea. These submarine earthquakes sometimes give rise to seismic sea waves. The waves are not noticeable out at sea because of their long wave length. But when they roll into harbors, they pile up into walls of water 6 to 60 feet high. The Japanese call them "tsunamis", meaning "harbor waves", because they reach a sizable height only in harbors.

Tsunamis travel fairly slowly, at speeds up to 500 miles an hour. An adequate warning system is in use to warn all shores likely to be reached by the waves. But this only enables people to leave the threatened shores for higher ground. There is no way to stop the oncoming wave.

1. Which of the following CANNOT be concluded from the passage?

A. The number of earthquakes is closely related to depth.

B. Roughly the same number of earthquakes occur each year.

C. Earthquakes are impossible at depths over 460 miles.

D. Earthquakes are most likely to occur near the surfaces.

2. The destruction of Agadir is an example of ______.

A. faulty building construction

B. an earthquake's strength

C. widespread panic in earthquakes

D. ineffective instruments

3. The United Nations' experts are supposed to______.

A. construct strong buildings

B. put forward proposals

C. detect disastrous earthquakes

D. monitor earthquakes

4. The significance of the slow speed of tsunamis is that people may______.

A. notice them out at sea

B. find ways to stop them

C. be warned early enough

D. develop warning systems

参考答案：1~4 C A B C

专四模拟试题（阅读篇13）

I live in the land of Disney, Hollywood and year-round sun. You may think people in such a glamorous, fun-filled place are happier than others. If so, you have some mistaken ideas about the nature of happiness.

Many intelligent people still equate happiness with fun. The truth is that fun and happiness have little or nothing in common. Fun is what we experience during an act. Happiness is what we experience after an act. It is a deeper, more abiding emotion.

Going to an amusement park or ball game, watching a movie or television, are fun activities that help us relax, temporarily forget our problems and maybe even laugh. But they do not bring happiness, because their positive effects end when the fun ends.

I have often thought that if Hollywood stars have a role to play, it is to teach us that happiness has nothing to do with fun. These rich, beautiful individuals have constant access to glamorous parties, fancy cars, expensive homes, everything that spells “happiness”. But in

memoir after memoir, celebrities reveal the unhappiness hidden beneath all their fun: depression, alcoholism, drug addiction, broken marriages, troubled children and profound loneliness.

Ask a bachelor why he resists marriage even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying. If he’s honest, he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment. For commitment is in fact quite painful. The single life is filled with fun, adventure and excitement. Marriage has such moments, but they are not its most distinguishing features.

Similarly, couples that choose not to have children are deciding in favor of painless fun over painful happiness. They can dine out ever they want and sleep as late as they want. Couples with infant children are lucky to get a whole night’s sleep or a three-day vacation. I don’t know any parent who would choose the word fun to describe raising children.

Understanding and accepting that true happiness has nothing to do with fun is one of the most liberating realizations we can ever come to. It liberates time: now we can devote more hours to activities that can genuinely increase our happiness. It liberates money: buying that new car or those fancy clothes that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless. And it liberates us from envy: we now understand that all those rich and glamorous people we were so sure are happy because they are always having so much fun actually may not be happy at all.

1.Which of the following is true?

A.Fun creates long-lasting satisfaction.

B.Fun provides enjoyment while pain leads to happiness.

C.Happiness is enduring whereas fun is short-lived.

D.Fun that is long-standing may lead to happiness.

2.To the author, Hollywood stars all have an important role to play that is to __.

A.rite memoir after memoir about their happiness.

B.tell the public that happiness has nothing to do with fun.

C.teach people how to enjoy their lives.

D.bring happiness to the public instead of going to glamorous parties.

3.In the author’s opinion, marriage___.

A.affords greater fun.

B.leads to raising children.

C.indicates commitment.

D.ends in pain.

4.Couples having infant children___.

A.are lucky since they can have a w hole night’s sleep.

B.find fun in tucking them into bed at night.

C.find more time to play and joke with them.

D.derive happiness from their endeavor.

5.If one get the meaning of the true sense of happiness, he will__.

A.stop playing games and joking with others.

B.make the best use of his time increasing happiness.

C.give a free hand to money.

D.keep himself with his family.

参考答案：1~5 CBCDB

专四模拟试题（阅读篇14）

Once it was possible to define male and female roles easily by the division of labor. Men worked outside the home and earned the income to support their families, while women cooked the meals and took care of the home and the children. These roles were firmly fixed for most people, and there was not much opportunity for women to exchange their roles. But by the middle of this century, men’s and women’s roles were becoming less firmly fixed.

In the 1950s, economic and social success was the goal of the typical American. But in the 1960s a new force developed called the counterculture. The people involved in this movement did not value the middle-class American goals. The counterculture presented men and women with new role choices. Taking more interest in childcare, men began to share

child-raising tasks with their wives. In fact, some young men and women moved to communal homes or farms where the economic and childcare responsibilities were shared equally by both sexes. In addition, many Americans did not value the traditional male role of soldier. Some young men refused to be drafted as soldiers to fight in the war in Vietnam.

In terms of numbers, the counterculture was not a very large group of people. But its influence spread to many parts of American society. Working men of all classes began to change their economic and social patterns. Industrial workers and business executives alike cut down on “overtime” work so that they could spend more leisure time with their families. Some doctors, lawyers, and teachers turned away from high paying situations to practice their professions in poorer neighborhoods.

In th e 1970s, the feminist movement, or women’s liberation, produced additional economic and social changes. Women of all ages and at all levels of society were entering the work force in greater numbers. Most of them still took traditional women’s jobs as publ ic school teaching, nursing, and secretarial work. But some women began to enter traditionally male occupations: police work, banking, dentistry, and construction work. Women were asking for equal work, and equal opportunities for promotion.

Today the experts generally agree that important changes are taking place in the roles of men and women. Naturally, there are difficulties in adjusting to these transformations.

1.Which of the following best express the main idea of Paragraph 1?

A.Women usually worked outside the home for wages.

B.Men and women’s roles were easily exchanged in the past.

C.Men’s roles at home were more firmly fixed than women’s.

D.Men and women’s roles were usually quite separated in the past.

2.Which sentence best expresses the main idea of Paragraph 2?

A.The first sentence.

B.The second and the third sentences.

C.The fourth sentence.

D.The last sentence.

3.In the passage the author proposes that the counterculture___.

A.destroyed the United States.

B.transformed some American values.

C.was not important in the United States.

D.brought people more leisure time with their families.

4.It could be inferred from the passage that___.

A.men and women will never share the same goals.

B.some men will be willing to exchange their traditional male roles.

C.most men will be happy to share some of the household responsibilities with their wives.

D.more American households are headed by women than ever before.

5.The best title for the passage may be ___.

A.Results of Feminist Movements

B.New influence in American Life

C.Counterculture and Its consequence

D.Traditional Division of Male and Female Roles.

参考答案 1~5：DCBCB

专四模拟试题（阅读篇15）

Recent research has claimed that an excess of positive ions in the air can have an ill effect on people’s physical or psychol ogical health. What are positive ions? Well, the air is full of ions, electrically charged particles, and generally there is a rough balance between the positive and the negative charged. But sometimes this balance becomes disturbed and a larger proportion of positive ions are found. This happens naturally before thunderstorm, earthquakes when winds such as the Mistral, Hamsin or Sharav are blowing in certain countries. Or it can be caused by a build-up of static electricity indoors from carpets or clothing made of man-made fibres, or from TV sets, duplicators or computer display screens.

When a large number of positive ions are present in the air many people experience unpleasant effects such as headaches, fatigue, irritability, and some particularly sensitive people suffer nausea or even mental disturbance. Animals are also affected, particularly before earthquakes, snakes have been observed to come out of hibernation, rats to flee from their burrows, dogs howl and cats jump about unaccountably. This has led the US Geographical Survey to fund a network of volunteers to watch animals in an effort to foresee such disasters before they hit vulnerable areas such as California.

Conversely, when large numbers of negative ions are present, then people have a feeling of well-being. Natural conditions that produce these large amounts are near the sea, close to waterfalls or fountains, or in any place where water is sprayed, or forms a spray. This probably accounts for the beneficial effect of a holiday by the sea, or in the mountains with tumbling streams or waterfalls.

To increase the supply of negative ions indoors, some scientists recommend the use of ionisers: small portable machines, which generate negative ions. They claim that ionisers not only clean and refresh the air but also improve the health of people sensitive to excess positive ions. Of course, there are the detractors, other scientists, who dismiss such claims and are skeptical about negative/positive ion research. Therefore people can only make up their own minds by observing the effects on themselves, or on others, of a negative rich or poor environment. After all it is debatable whether depending on seismic readings to anticipate earthquakes is more effective than watching the cat.

1.What effect does exceeding positive ionization have on some people?

A.They think they are insane.

B.They feel rather bad-tempered and short-fussed.