大学英语四级预测试卷(阅读理解)
Part ⅣReading Comprehension (Reading in Depth) (25 minutes)
Section A
Directions: In this section, there is a short passage with 5 questions or incomplete statements. Read the passage carefully. Then answer the questions or complete the statements in the fewest possible words on Answer Sheet 2.
Questions 47 to 51 are based on the following passage.
Swiss Re Tower is a typical example of green architecture in London, and what is most remarkable about this building is its energy efficiency. Thanks to its artful design and some fancy technology, it is expected to consume up to 50% less energy than a comparable conventional office building. Green architecture is changing the way building are designed, built and run.
Green architecture, a term which only came into use in the 1990s, has its origins in the energy crisis of the 1970s, when architects began to question the wisdom of building enclosed glass and steel boxes that required massive heating and cooling systems.
The forward looking architects began to explore designs that focused on the long term environmental impact of maintaining and operating a building. This approach has since been formalized in a number of assessment and rating systems, such as the BREEAM standard introduced in Britain in 1990, and the LEED standard developed by the United States Green Building Council starting in 2000.
Going green saves money by reducing long term energy costs; a survey of 99 green buildings in America found that on average, they use 30% less energy than comparably conventional buildings.
Green buildings can also have other benefits. The use of natural daylight in office buildings, for example, as well as reducing energy costs, also seems to make workers more productive. Lockheed Martin, an aerospace(航空宇宙) firm, found that absenteeism(旷工) fell by 15% after it moved 2 500 employees into a new green building in Sunnyvale, California.
47. Owing to its delicate design and advanced technology, Swiss Re Tower in London uses less energy than those traditional office buildings by .
48. Green architecture could date back to .
49. Today, when assessing and rating architecture, the long term environmental effect in the maintenance of the building has been .
50. Green architectures can reduce expenditure on the maintenance by .
51. Besides the benefit of saving money, green buildings can also bring .
Section B
Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.
Passage One
Questions 52 to 56 are based on the following passage.
Television is often viewed as an anti intellectual medium. But truly clever people know how to use even the most unpromising material, and that is what Val Curtis and her colleagues at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine have done. They employed the mass market appeal of TV to test a long held, but unproven, hypothesis(假设): that the emotion of disgust evolved to protect people from disease.
They set up their experiment in October 2007, by publicizing it on a BBC program called "Human Instincts". Viewers were invited to visit a website and, after giving a few biographical(个人介绍的)details, to view a series of 20 pictures and rate each of them for disgustingness on a scale of one to five. They were also asked to choose, from a list of possible candidates, with whom they would least like to share a toothbrush.
The results showed that in all seven pairs, the disease distinct pictures were more disgusting than their counterparts. For things like the apparent depiction of bodily fluids, or of a face that had been "enhanced" with spots, that may come as no surprise. But a crowded railway carriage was more distinguishing than an empty one, and a louse more disgusting than a wasp.
These last results confirmed Dr Curtis's suspicion that disgust is not, as many disgust researchers believe, just a way of avoiding eating disease bearing materials. Rather, it extends to threats that might be contagious(传染性的). Indeed, one result of the study was to show that the young are easier to disgust than the old. Another result was that women are more easily disgusted than men. Both of these make evolutionary sense. The young have more reproductive potential than the old, so should be more careful about what they touch and eat. And women are usually burdened with bringing up the children, so have to be disgusted on their offspring's behalf, as well as their own.
The results of the toothbrush study made similar sense. Strangers are more likely to carry new bacteria than acquaintances. Hence, of the available choices of toothbrush partner, a postman came off worst, and a lover best. A brush notionally belonging to a weatherman was, however, preferred to the boss's. Clearly the British feel more intimacy with the former than the later. Perhaps it might have been instructive to include a famous television personality among the choices?
52. In the first paragraph television is mentioned to .
A) prove that what some intellectuals had claimed is wrong
B) show that TV is an essential part of British people's daily life
C) demonstrate that mass media is a very profitable industry
D) introduce the media through which the survey was advertised
53. The experiment is chiefly done by .
A) watching the TV program called "Human Instincts" and filling out feedback forms
B) visiting different websites and making matches between pictures and numbers
C) rating various photos with numbers and selecting from a choice list
D) filling in biographical details and choosing a toothbrush
54. Which of the following is true about the result of the experiment?
A) A spotted face is more disgusting than a picture of bodily fluids.
B) A full packed subway is more disgusting than a louse.
C) A bleeding face is the most disgusting one.
D) A wasp makes people feel better than a louse.
55. The results of the experiment make evolutionary sense in that .
A) old people are less likely to produce goods for the society than the young
B) people's emotion of disgust is often related to the safety of their children
C) women are more likely to bring up children independent of men's help
D) old people are more likely to be disgusted than women
56. The results of the toothbrush experiment show that .
A) a boss is normally less clean and healthy than a weatherman
B) a postman is often dirtier than a lover
C) a public figure is often more popular than a boss in Britain
D) a famous television personality is the best toothbrush partner
Passage Two
Questions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.
When it comes to health, the poor are doubly cursed. Not only are they more prone to deadly infectious diseases than the rich, but they have far less access to the means of improvement. Twenty years ago, Paul Farmer, an American doctor and anthropologist(人类学者), set out to do something about this. Amid the political turmoil(混乱)and poverty of rural Haiti, he created a community based health care system called Zanmi Lasante, or Partners in Health. It not only delivers appropriate, affordable medical treatment to thousands of poor people, but goes beyond the clinic to address the social causes making them sick and keeping them from getting better.
As Dr. Farmer argues, improving the health of the poor is not just a medical challenge, but a question of human rights. Tackling the inequality, racism, sexism and other forms of "structural violence" which oppress the poor is as critical as extending the drugs. Or as his Haiti patients put it, medicine without food is like washing one's hands and drying them in the dirt.
Unfortunately, Dr. Farmer's powerful message is often weakened by his book's academic tone. It does, however, scream out in passages describing the human face of "structural violence". It is these personal stories that make Dr. Farmer's anger at such "stupid deaths" so compelling.
The good doctor's motives and methods are better described in Mountains Beyond Mountains. This biography by Tracy Kidder traces Dr. Farmer from his unconventional upbringing and unusual education, shuttling (来回穿梭于) between the shacks of central Haiti and the halls of Harvard Medical School, to his later work around the world. Though well written, Mr. Kidder's book also makes for uncomfortable reading. The author is clearly close to his subject, having traveled with Dr. Farmer from the green poverty of Haiti to the tubercular whiteness of Russia. Too close, perhaps. The biographer seems to be seeking his subject's approval, rather than the other way round. Mr. Kidder writes, rather disturbingly, about his fear of disappointing Dr. Farmer, his own pain at wounding him with a critical remark and his relief at the doctor's forgiveness.
When Mr. Kidder's health falls, this dependence becomes all the more intense. But rather than compromise the book's equity(公正), this intimacy serves to highlight Dr. Farmer's admirable, yet ultimately irritating, character. As Mr. Kidder observes, "Farmer wasn't put on earth to make anyone feel comfortable, except those lucky enough to be his patients or those unlucky enough to need him."
57. What makes the "Partners in Health" system unique compared with traditional hospitals?
A) It makes attempts to help the poor on a social level.
B) It is aimed at treating poor people for free.
C) It is designed to help the poor rise from poverty.
D) It offers community help to those who are poor.
58. What can be inferred from the last sentence of the second paragraph?
A) Hands should not be dried in the dirt after washing.
B) Medicine is also needed for cleaning hands.
C) Medicine is not a long term cure to their poor health.
D) Food can cure their disease better than any medicine.
59. The disadvantage of Dr. Farmer's book seems to be that.
A) the plots in the book are not attractive enough
B) the way he tells the stories is not compelling enough
C) the anger he expresses at "stupid deaths" is too strong
D) the tone is not strong enough to arouse people's attention
60. Mr. Kidder's book also makes for uncomfortable reading because .
A) Mr. Kidder himself has never been involved in Dr. Farmer's life
B) Mr. Kidder is afraid of making true comments on Dr. Farmer
C) Mr. Kidder's emotions prevent him from independent writing
D) Mr. Kidder is always waiting for Dr. Farmer's forgiveness
61. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that .
A) Dr. Farmer only helped those who are lucky enough
B) Dr. Farmer may have severely criticized the society
C) Dr. Farmer was not actually making his patients comfortable
D) Dr. Farmer's job is not to make people comfortable
Part ⅣReading Comprehension (Reading in Depth)
Section A
随着全球能源紧张和环境污染日益严重，绿色建筑逐渐成为全世界共同关注的话题。其特点为减少能源和资源消耗，并尽可能采用新技术和新材料。
47. nearly 50%
[定位]根据题干中的Swiss Re Tower可以定位到第一段第二句：Thanks to its artful design and some fancy technology, it is expected to consume up to 50% less energy than a comparable conventional office building.
[精解]题目问的是得益于其精良的设计、先进的技术，Swiss Re Tower比传统办公大楼能节省多少能源。该句意为"由于其设计精良，技术先进，Swiss Re Tower有望比传统建筑节能近50%"。题干中的owing to与原文中thanks to的同义，traditional与conventional同义。by在此句中为介词，表程度相差多少的意思，后面应接数字。故答案为nearly 50%。
48. the energy crisis of the 1970s
[定位]根据题干中的green architecture可以定位到第二段Green architecture, ...has its origins in the energy crisis of the 1970s....
[精解]由该段可知：绿色建筑的来源要追溯到20世纪70年代的能源危机。题目中的could date back to是对has its origins in the energy crisis of the 1970s的同义转述，故答案为the energy crisis of the 1970s。
49. widely taken into consideration in the developed world
[定位]根据题干中提到的assessing and rating可以定位到第三段第二句：This approach has since been formalized in a number of assessment and rating systems, such as the BREEAM standard introduced in Britain in 1990, and the LEED standard developed by the United States Green Building Council starting in 2000.
[精解]本题考查在一系列建筑评估体系中，建筑的维修和保养对环境的长期影响也在评估之列。根据This approach has since been formalized in a number of assessment and rating systems可知，这一原则已被成文化，而且下文举例提到了英国的BREEAM和美国的LEED standard，据此可知，这一规则已被发达国家引起重视。空格处缺少谓语动词，且位于has been
之后，故答案应为widely taken into consideration in the developed world。
50. cutting long term energy costs
[定位]由题干中的green, reduce将答案定位到原文第四段第一句：Going green saves money by reducing long term energy costs;...
[精解]题目问的是绿色建筑怎样降低了成本。题干中的reduce expenditure是对saves money的同义转述，by在句中作原因状语，后应接动词的现在分词形式，即cutting long term energy costs。
51. economic benefits
[定位]根据benefit可以定位到第五段第二句：The use of natural daylight in office buildings, for example, as well as reducing energy costs, also seems to make workers more productive.
[精解]题目问的是除了节省成本，绿色建筑还有哪些优势。根据下面提到的make workers more productive可知，它还可以为企业带来经济效益，故答案为economic benefits。
Section B
Passage One
(52)电视通常被认为是不利于智力的媒介。但是真正聪明的人知道怎样利用最没有价值的东西，而这就是在伦敦卫生和热带医药学校的Val Curtis和她的同事们所做的事。(52)她们借助具有大众市场吸引力的电视来测试一个提出已久却没有被证实的假设：恶心的感觉是人们为了预防疾病而产生的。
(52)(53)他们的试验在2007年10月通过BBC一个被叫做"人类本能"的专栏节目上进行公布。他们邀请观众访问一个网站，在给出一系列个人细节信息后，(53)观众要看20张图片，并且用1-5分按照令人恶心的程度给照片打分。他们还要从一系列可能的候选人名单中选出他们最不愿意与谁共用牙刷。
测试结果显示，在所有七组图片中，疾病迹象很明显的图片比无疾病迹象的图片更令人恶心。对明显的体液外流或是有着被"放大了"的斑点的人脸的恶心就没有什么令人吃惊的了。只是一个拥挤的火车车厢比空着的要更令人恶心，而且(54)虱子比马蜂更令人恶心。
这些最终的结果证实了Curtis大夫的怀疑，即恶心不像很多研究恶心的学者认为的只是一种避免吃带有疾病的物质的方式。其实，恶心可以延伸到可能造成传染的威胁上。实际上，该研究的一个结果证实了年轻人比老年人更容易恶心。另外一个结果是女性比男性更容易恶心。这两点都有着进化方面的意义。(55)年轻人比老年人更具有繁殖能力，所以应该更注意他们接触什么和吃些什么。而妇女通常是负有养育孩子的担子，所以也必须为了后代和自身的利益去恶心。
牙刷试验的结果也有同样的道理。陌生人比熟人更容易携带新的病菌。因此，在与之共用牙刷的可选择项中，邮递员是最令人恶心的，而爱人则是最不令人恶心的。然而人们好像宁肯和天气预报员共用牙刷也不愿意和老板共用。(56)很明显，英国人对天气预报员比对老板感到亲近。或许在选项中放上一个著名电视节目主持人会更有启发意义?
52. D)。[定位]由题干定位到首段首句Television is often viewed as an anti intellectual medium.
[精析]从原文首段最后一句"她们借助具有大众市场吸引力的电视来测试一个提出已久却没有被证实的假设"可推知，研究人员只不过是利用电视作为宣传他们的测试的媒体。第2段首句说"他们在BBC的节目上公布这个测试"也进一步证明了提到电视只不过是为了引出宣传该测试的媒介。故D)"介绍借以宣传测试的媒介"为正确答案。
排除干扰A)"证明一些学者的声明错误"在原文没有涉及;B)"证明电视是英国人日常生活的重要部分"并不是文章的中心所在，排除;C)"展示大众媒体是一个非常赢利的行业"在原文中没有提及;故均排除。
53. C)。[定位]由题干中的The experiment定位到第二段首句They set up their experiment in October 2007, by publicizing it on a BBC programme called "Human Instincts".
[精析]原文第二段一直在叙述试验进行的方式，主要是两件事，一是给图片定1-5的等级，二是选择你最不愿意与之共用牙刷的人。C)"为各种照片评级和进行一个选择"是对文意的概括，为正确答案。
排除干扰A)"观看名叫‘人类本能'的电视节目，并填写反馈表格"没涉及试验，而且试验里并没有填反馈表格，排除;B)"访问不同的网站然后给图片和数字配对"不是试验内容，排除;D)填写个人信息虽然正确，但是后面说"要选出一个牙刷"不是试验的内容，排除。
54. D)。[定位]由题干中的the result of the experiment定位到第三段首句The results showed that in all seven pairs...
[精析]由原文"虱子比马蜂更令人恶心"可以推知D)"马蜂会比虱子让人感觉好些"符合文意。
排除干扰原文只是说对于明显的体液外流或是有着被"放大了"的斑点的人脸的恶心就没有什么令人惊奇的了，并没有在体液外流的人体和长满了斑点的脸之间进行比较，排除A);原文并没有对拥挤的火车车厢和虱子进行比较，排除B);原文并没有指明什么最令人恶心，且没有提及"流血的脸"也排除C)。
55. B)。[定位]由题干中的The results of the experiment make evolutionary sense可以定位到第四段第五句Both of these make evolutionary sense.
[精析]联系定位句下文"年轻人比老年人更具有繁殖能力，所以应该更注意他们接触什么和吃些什么。而妇女通常是负有养育孩子的担子，所以也必须为了后代和自身的利益去恶心。"可以推知人们恶心其实都是和后代的安全相联系的。故B)"人们的恶心通常与孩子的安危相联系"为正确答案。
排除干扰原文reproductive potential指的是繁殖后代的能力，而非生产食物的能力，排除A);原文虽提及女性养育后代，但并未提及她们更倾向于独立于男性的帮助之外，排除C);原文并没有将老年人和女性进行对比，排除D)。
56. C)。[定位]由题干定位到末段首句The results of the toothbrush study made similar sense.
[精析]联系原文可知，牙刷测试的结果也是"为了证明人们认为陌生人更容易携带新的病菌"。下文提到"很明显，英国人对天气预报员比对老板感到亲近"，由此推测C)"公众人物通常比老板更受英国人欢迎"正确。
排除干扰A)和B)的错误在于它们都说老板和邮递员本身是否干净，而试验只是说给人们的感觉，故都排除;D)的错误在于著名电视节目主持人其实根本不是测试选项之一，只是一个假设，无法判断其情况，也排除。
核心词汇及短语
acquaintance [?'kweint?ns] n. 熟人
disgusting [dis'g?sti?] adj. 令人恶心的
depiction [di'pik ??n] n. 描写
unpromising ['?n'pr?misi?] adj. 没希望的
candidate ['k?ndidit] n. 候选人
evolutionary [i:v?'lu:??n?ri] adj. 进化的
reproductive ['ri:pr?'d?ktiv] adj. 生殖的
intimacy ['intim?si] n. 亲密
instructive [in'str?ktiv] adj. 有启发性的
bring up养育
Passage Two
提起健康问题，穷人的处境可谓雪上加霜。他们不但比富人更容易患上致命的传染病，而且他们远远没有能力去改善这一状况。二十年以前，美国的医生和人类学家Paul Farmer 开始了解决这一问题的历程。在政治动荡、贫困严重的海地郊区，他创建了以社区为基础的医疗保健体系，被称作"Zanmi Lasante"或"健康之友"。它不仅给数以千计的穷人提供适当的可以支付得起的治疗，(57)而且还越过医疗层面，想要解决让穷人得病或很难康复的社会原因。
正如Farmer大夫所说，改善穷人的健康不是单纯的医学挑战，而是人权问题。它与不平等、种族主义、性别歧视和其他形式的"结构型暴力"等压迫穷人的现象作斗争和发放药品一样紧迫。或者就像他的海地病人的描述，(58)"提供了药品而没有食品，就像洗完了手在灰尘中晾干"。
(59)遗憾的是，Farmer大夫的强有力的信息通常被他所写的书中的学术口吻给减弱了。然而该书确实在一些描写人类面临"结构型暴力"的篇章中高声呐喊。但是还是那些他亲身经历的故事让他对"愚蠢的死亡"的愤怒表达得铿锵有力。
这位善良的医生的动机和方法在《山外有山》一书中得到了更好的描述。这本由Tracy Kidder 撰写的传记，追溯了Farmer大夫非同寻常的成长和教育背景，文字穿梭于海地中部的棚屋、哈佛大学医学院的礼堂和他后来在全世界所做的工作之间。尽管写得不错，但是Kidder先生的书读起来并不舒服。作者本人很明显和他所写的人物关系紧密，他和Farmer 大夫一起到过温暖而贫困的海地，也到过寒冷而易得结核病的俄罗斯。(60)可能是因为关系太亲密了，作者好像一直在寻求被描写对象的赞同。他非常苦恼地描述了他害怕让Farmer 大夫失望的恐惧和用批评的字眼伤害大夫的痛苦，以及对大夫的谅解所感到的欣慰。
当Kidder先生的健康每况愈下时，对大夫的这种依赖性就更加严重。但是，这不但没有使这本书有失公正，这种亲密倒突出了Farmer大夫那令人钦佩而又令人愤怒的性格。正如Kidder先生所写：(61)"Farmer不是到这个世界上让任何人都感到舒适的，除了那些幸运地成为他的病人的人，或者那些完全不幸地需要他的人。"
57. A)。[定位]由题干中的the "Partners in Health" system定位到原文首段第四句he created a community based health care system called Zanmi Lasante, or Partners in Health。
[精析]原文首段末尾说"它不仅给大量穷人提供适当的可以支付得起的治疗，还越过医疗层面，想要解决让穷人得病或很难康复的社会原因"。由此可推测此医疗系统与传统医院相比的独特之处在于It makes attempts to help the poor on a social level.(它试图在社会层面上帮助穷人)，故A)为正确答案。
排除干扰原文并没有说免费，而是"提供恰当的可以支付得起的治疗"，排除B);联系原文，可知其目的主要是为穷人治病，进而解决让穷人得病或很难康复的社会原因，并不是为了穷人脱贫，排除C);D) 中community help(社区救助)太过笼统和泛化，文中仅指有关治病的方面，也排除。
58. C)。[定位]由题干中的the last sentence of the second paragraph定位到原文第二段末句Or as his Haiti patients aptly put it, medicine without food is like washing one's hands and drying them in the dirt.
[精析]原文第二段强调了一个概念，即"穷人的健康问题其实不是简单的医疗问题，还有人权问题"。药物只能治愈穷人的疾病，没有食物，即没有消灭贫穷就像把手放在灰尘中晾干，手还会脏的，即还是会生病的。据此可以推知，C)Medicine is not a long term cure to their poor health(药物无法使他们长期保持健康)与文意相符，为正确答案。
排除干扰原文只是一个打比方的说法，并非真的说在那里晾手，排除A);原文并非指洗手也需要药物，这是对原文比喻的误解，排除B);联系原文可推知，食物是保持健康的保证，原文并没有对药物和食品的治疗功效进行比较，也排除D)。
59. D)。[定位]由题干中的The disadvantage of Dr. Farmer's book定位到原文第三段首句Unfortunately, Dr. Farmer's powerful message is often weakened by his book's academic tone.
[精析]该句说明"他的强有力的信息通常被他所写的书的学术口吻给减弱了"，言下之意就是口气不够强，故D)"口气不够强，很难引起他人的注意"与文意相符，正确。
排除干扰原文并没有对他的书的情节进行评价，故A)"书中的情节不够吸引人"与原文不符，排除;原文没有对该书内容叙述的方式做出评价，故B)认为"其内容叙述方式不够吸引人"与原文不符，排除;他对"愚蠢的死亡"的愤怒表达得铿锵有力是该书的优点，与题干所问不符，故排除C)。
60. C)。[定位]由题干可以定位到原文第四段第三句Though well written, Mr. Kidder s book also makes for uncomfortable reading.
[精析]原文第四段最后两句说"作者好像一直在寻求描写对象的同意，他非常苦恼地描述了他害怕让Farmer大夫失望的恐惧和用批评的字眼伤害大夫的痛苦以及对大夫的谅解所感到的欣慰"。由此推测，他对大夫的情感使他不能独立地写作。故C)"Mr. Kidder的感情妨碍了他写作的独立性"正确。
排除干扰由原文"他和Farmer大夫一起到过温暖而贫困的海地，也到过寒冷而易得结核病的俄罗斯"可推知，两者曾在一起生活过，故排除A);原文只是说Mr. Kidder在写作上考虑了Dr. Farmer的认同，并没有说他害怕做出真实的评论，故排除B);原文说道该书中已经描写了Mr. Kidder在得到Dr. Farmer的谅解后所感到的欣慰，故D)"他还一直在等后者的谅解"错误，也排除。
61. B)。[定位]由题干中的from the last paragraph可以定位到末段。
[精析]原文末段说"这种亲密倒突出了Farmer大夫那令人钦佩而又令人愤怒的性格"。Kidder先生写道，"Farmer不是到这个世界上让任何人感到舒适的"，由此推知，他对社会的种种不平等，特别是"结构型暴力"非常愤怒，因此很可能曾严厉地批评过这个社会，因此才会"让很多人感到不舒服"，故B)正确。
排除干扰原文说，能得到Farmer医治的人是幸运的，并非说只帮助那些足够幸运的人，A)与原文不符;C)错误，原文说除了那些幸运地成为他的病人的人，或那些完全不幸地需要他的人，Farmer不是到这个世界上让任何人感到舒适的，意思并非让他的病人不舒服，排除;D)忽视了其作为医生为病人治病，给人带来健康的一面，故排除。
核心词汇及短语
appropriate adj. 恰当的
critical adj. 关键性的
academic adj. 学术的
compelling adj. 令人注目的
highlight vt. 强调
unconventional adj. 非常规的
ultimately adv. 终极地set out 开始
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