1、大学英语四级-127 及答案解析(总分：100.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、Reading Comprehensio(总题数：4，分数：100.00)Some houses are designed to be smart. Others have smart designs. An example of the second type of house won an Award of Excellence from the American Institute of Architects. Located on the shore of Sullivan“s Island off the
2、 coast of South Carolina, the award-winning cube-shaped beach house was built to replace one smashed to pieces by Hurricane (飓风) Hugo 10 years ago. In September 1989, Hugo struck South Carolina, killing 18 people and damaging or destroying 36,000 homes in the state. Before Hugo, many new houses buil
3、t along South Carolina“s shoreline were poorly constructed, and enforcement of building codes wasn“t strict, according to architect Ray Huff, who created the cleverly-designed beach house. In Hugo“s wake, all new shoreline houses are required to meet stricter, better-enforced codes. The new beach ho
4、use on Sullivan“s Island should be able to withstand a Category 3 hurricane with peak winds of 179 to 209 kilometers per hour. At first sight, the house on Sullivan“s Island looks anything but hurricane-proof. Its redwood shell makes it resemble “a large party lantern (灯笼)“ at night, according to on
5、e observer. But looks can be deceiving. The house“s wooden frame is reinforced with long steel rods to give it extra strength. To further protect the house from hurricane damage, Huff raised it 2.7 meters off the ground on timber pilingslong, slender columns of wood anchored deep in the sand. Piling
6、s might appear insecure, but they are strong enough to support the weight of the house. They also elevate the house above storm surges. The pilings allow the surges to run under the house instead of running into it. “These swells of water come ashore at tremendous speeds and cause most of the damage
7、 done to beach-front buildings,“ said Huff. Huff designed the timber pilings to be partially concealed by the house“s ground-to-roof shell. “The shell masks the pilings so that the house doesn“t look like it“s standing with its pant legs pulled up,“ said Huff. In the event of a storm surge, the shel
8、l should break apart and let the waves rush under the house, the architect explained.（分数：25.00）(1).After the tragedy caused by Hurricane Hugo, new houses built along South Carolina“s shore line are required _.（分数：5.00）A.to be easily reinforcedB.to look smarter in designC.to meet stricter building st
9、andardsD.to be designed in the shape of cubes(2).The award-winning beach house is quite strong because _.（分数：5.00）A.it is strengthened by steel rodsB.it is made of redwoodC.it is in the shape of a shellD.it is built with timber and concrete(3).Huff raised the house 2.7 meters off the ground on timbe
10、r pilings in order to _.（分数：5.00）A.withstand peak winds of about 200 km/hrB.anchor stronger pilings deep in the sandC.break huge sea waves into smaller onesD.prevent water from rushing into the house(4).The main function of the shell is _.（分数：5.00）A.to strengthen the pilings of the houseB.to give th
11、e house a better appearanceC.to protect the wooden frame of the houseD.to slow down the speed of the swelling water(5).It can be inferred from the passage that the shell should be _.（分数：5.00）A.fancy-lookingB.waterproofC.easily breakableD.extremely strongSleep is very ancient. In the electroencephalo
12、graphic (脑电图仪的) sense we share it with all the primates (灵长类动物) and almost all the other mammals and birds: it may extend back as far as the reptiles (爬行动物). There is some evidence that the two types of sleep, dreaming and dreamless, depend on the life style of the animal, and that predators (食肉动物)
13、are statistically much more likely to dream than prey, which are in turn much more likely to experience dreamless sleep. In dream sleep, the animal is powerfully immobilized (使固定不动) and remarkably unresponsive to external stimuli. Dreamless sleep is much shallower, and we have all witnessed cats or
14、dogs cocking their ears to a sound when apparently fast asleep. The fact that deep dream sleep is rare among prey today seems clearly to be a product of natural selection, and it makes sense that today, when sleep is highly evolved, the stupid animals are less frequently immobilized by deep sleep th
15、an the smart ones. But why should they sleep deeply at all? Why should a state of such deep immobilization ever have evolved? Perhaps one useful hint about the original function of sleep is to be found in the fact that dolphins and whales and aquatic mammals in general seem to sleep very little. The
16、re is, by and large, no place to hide in the ocean. Could it be that, rather than increasing an animal“s vulnerability, Ray Meddis of London University has suggested this to be the case. It is conceivable that animals that are too stupid to be quite on their own initiative are, during periods of hig
17、h risk, immobilized by the implacable arm of sleep. The point seems particularly clear for the young of predatory animals. This is an interesting notion and probably at least partly true.（分数：25.00）(1).Which of the following might be the best title for this passage?（分数：5.00）A.Evolution of Animal“s Sl
18、eep.B.Two Types of Sleep.C.The Original Function of Animal“s Sleep.D.Animals and Sleep.(2).Predators are _.（分数：5.00）A.able to prey even when they are in deep dream sleepB.more likely to experience dream sleepC.incapable of preying when immobilized by dreamless sleepD.good at preying on stupid animal
19、s(3).The example of dogs and cats in the second paragraph is intended to _.（分数：5.00）A.explain which animals are mammalsB.show the differences between mammalsC.illustrate how shallow dreamless sleep isD.reveal how smart they are(4).Compare with dreamless sleep, deep dream sleep is _.（分数：5.00）A.not th
20、e result of natural selectionB.less likely to appear to primatesC.more protective to the animalsD.at a higher stage of evolution(5).According to some scientists“ research findings, dolphins seldom sleep because _.（分数：5.00）A.of their stupidityB.of their vulnerabilityC.there are possible dangers in th
21、e oceanD.aquatic mammals do not need sleepIf the salinity (含盐量) of ocean waters is analyzed, it is found to vary only slightly from place to place. Nevertheless, some of these small changes are important. There are three basic processes that cause a change in oceanic salinity. One of these is the su
22、btraction of water from the ocean by means of evaporationconversion of liquid water to water vapor. In this manner, the salinity is increased, since the salts stay behind. If this is carried to the extreme, of course, white crystals of salt would be left behind. The opposite of evaporation is precip
23、itation (降水), such as rain, by which water is added to the ocean. Here the ocean is being diluted (稀释) so that the salinity is decreased. This may occur in areas of high rainfall or in coastal regions where rivers flow into the ocean. Thus salinity may be increased by the subtraction of water by eva
24、poration, or decreased by the addition of fresh water by Precipitation or runoff (形成地表水部分的降雨). Normally, in tropical regions where the sun is very strong, the ocean salinity is somewhat higher than it is in other parts of the world where there is not as much evaporation. Similarly, in coastal region
25、s where rivers dilute the sea, salinity is somewhat lower than in other oceanic areas. A third process by which salinity may be altered is associated with the formation and melting of sea ice. When seawater is frozen, the dissolved materials are left behind. In this manner, seawater directly beneath
26、 freshly-formed sea ice has a higher salinity than it did before the ice appeared. Of course, when this ice melts, it will tend to decrease the salinity of the surrounding water. In the Weddell Sea, off Antarctica, the densest water in the oceans is. formed as a result of this freezing process, whic
27、h increases the salinity of cold water. This heavy water sinks and is found in the deeper portions of the oceans of the world.（分数：25.00）(1).The best title of the passage can be “_“.（分数：5.00）A.Typical Oceans and Their Respective FeaturesB.The Causes of the Changes in Salinity of Ocean WaterC.Differen
28、t Oceans Have Different SalinityD.The Precipitation and Evaporation of Oceans(2).Which of the following processes will increase salinity of ocean waters?（分数：5.00）A.Evaporation.B.Precipitation.C.Melting.D.Dilution.(3).According to this passage, the sea _ is likely to have the lowest salinity.（分数：5.00
29、）A.in tropical areasB.off AntarcticaC.of high rainfallD.with abundant sunshine(4).The Weddell Sea _.（分数：5.00）A.is a good example of increased salinity in freezing sea waterB.is much larger in area than the Arctic oceansC.has a much lower salinity now than everD.has the denser water in its upper part
30、s(5).Coastal regions are mentioned as cases where _.（分数：5.00）A.sea water is less salty because fresh water joins inB.rivers carry industrial exhaust into seaC.sea ice tends to melt more quickly than in the center of oceansD.heavy water sinks to the deeper portions of the oceansAlthough many of us ma
31、y feel air-conditioners bring relief from hot, humid or polluted outside air, they pose many potential health hazards. Much research has looked at how the movement of air inside a closed environmentsuch as an office buildingcan spread disease or expose people in the building to harmful chemicals. On
32、e of the more widely publicized dangers is that of Legionnaire“s disease, which was first recognized in the 1970s. This was found to have affected people in buildings with air-conditioning systems in which warm air pumped out of the system“s cooling towers was somehow sucked back into the air intake
33、 (通风口), in most cases due to poor design. The warm air, filled with bacteria, was combined with cooled, conditioned air and was then circulated around various parts of the building. Studies showed that even people outside Such buildings were at risk if they walked past air exhaust pipes. Large air-c
34、onditioning systems add water to the air they circulate by means of humidifiers (湿度调节器). In older systems, the water used for this process is kept in special reservoirs, the bottoms of which provide breeding grounds for bacteria which can find their way into the ventilation (通风) system. The risk to
35、human health from this situation has been highlighted by the fact that the immune systems (免疫系统) of approximately haft of workers in air-conditioned office buildings have developed the ability to fight off the organisms found at the bottom of system reservoirs. But chemicals called “biocides“ are ad
36、ded to reservoirs to make them germ-free, and they are dangerous in their own right in sufficient quantities, as they often contain compounds strongly linked to cancers. Finally, it should be pointed out that the artificial climatic environment created by air-conditioners can also affect us. In a na
37、tural environment, whether indoor or outdoor, there are small variations in temperature and humidity. Indeed, the human body has long been accustomed to these normal changes. In an air-conditioned living or work environment, however, body temperatures remain well under 37, our normal temperature. Th
38、is leads to a weakened immune system and thus greater exposure to diseases such as colds and flu.（分数：25.00）(1).What do we know about Legionnaire“s disease from the passage?（分数：5.00）A.It was the most widely concerned office hazard.B.It can affect people both inside and outside the building.C.It happe
39、ns only in air-conditioned office buildings.D.It does not develop in well-designed buildings.(2).In the old air-conditioned systems, bacteria first develop _.（分数：5.00）A.in the reservoirsB.in the ventilation systemC.in the humidifiersD.in the air intake(3).The fact that about half of workers develope
40、d the ability to fight off the bacteria may _.（分数：5.00）A.relieve people“s worry about the danger caused by the bacteriaB.help people find an effective way to get rid of the bacteriaC.reflect the serious danger brought by the bacteriaD.cause serious disease such as cancers to people(4).The author mos
41、t probably wants the readers to treat biocides with an attitude of _（分数：5.00）A.cautionB.trustC.enthusiasmD.criticism(5).The last paragraph implies that our immune system can be weakened when _.（分数：5.00）A.we live in an artificial climatic environmentB.there are variations in temperature and humidityC
42、.our body temperatures often remain not high enoughD.we are often exposed to diseases such as colds and flu大学英语四级-127 答案解析(总分：100.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、Reading Comprehensio(总题数：4，分数：100.00)Some houses are designed to be smart. Others have smart designs. An example of the second type of house won an Award
43、of Excellence from the American Institute of Architects. Located on the shore of Sullivan“s Island off the coast of South Carolina, the award-winning cube-shaped beach house was built to replace one smashed to pieces by Hurricane (飓风) Hugo 10 years ago. In September 1989, Hugo struck South Carolina,
44、 killing 18 people and damaging or destroying 36,000 homes in the state. Before Hugo, many new houses built along South Carolina“s shoreline were poorly constructed, and enforcement of building codes wasn“t strict, according to architect Ray Huff, who created the cleverly-designed beach house. In Hu
45、go“s wake, all new shoreline houses are required to meet stricter, better-enforced codes. The new beach house on Sullivan“s Island should be able to withstand a Category 3 hurricane with peak winds of 179 to 209 kilometers per hour. At first sight, the house on Sullivan“s Island looks anything but h
46、urricane-proof. Its redwood shell makes it resemble “a large party lantern (灯笼)“ at night, according to one observer. But looks can be deceiving. The house“s wooden frame is reinforced with long steel rods to give it extra strength. To further protect the house from hurricane damage, Huff raised it
47、2.7 meters off the ground on timber pilingslong, slender columns of wood anchored deep in the sand. Pilings might appear insecure, but they are strong enough to support the weight of the house. They also elevate the house above storm surges. The pilings allow the surges to run under the house instea
48、d of running into it. “These swells of water come ashore at tremendous speeds and cause most of the damage done to beach-front buildings,“ said Huff. Huff designed the timber pilings to be partially concealed by the house“s ground-to-roof shell. “The shell masks the pilings so that the house doesn“t
49、 look like it“s standing with its pant legs pulled up,“ said Huff. In the event of a storm surge, the shell should break apart and let the waves rush under the house, the architect explained.（分数：25.00）(1).After the tragedy caused by Hurricane Hugo, new houses built along South Carolina“s shore line are required _.（分数：5.00）A.to be easily reinforcedB.to look smarter in designC.to meet stricter building standards D.to be designed in the shape of cubes解析：解析 根据题目中的专有名词 Hugo 查找到文中第 3 段第 2 句。句中的 In Hugo
