1、大学英语四级-128 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)For centuries, in the countries of south and Southeast Asia the elephant has been an intimate part of the culture, economy and religion. And nowhere more so than in Thailand. Unlike its African cousin, the Asian elephant is
2、 easily domesticated (驯化). The rare so-called white elephants have actually lent the authority of kingship to its rulers and until the 1920s the national flag was a white elephant on a red background. To the early Western visitors the country“s romantic name was “Land of the White Elephant“. Today,
3、however, the story is very different. Out of work and out of land, the Thai elephant struggles for survival in a nation that no longer needs it. The elephant has found itself more or less abandoned by previous owners who have moved on to a different economic world and a westernized society. And whil
4、e the elephant“s problems began many years ago, now it rates a very low national priority. How this reversal from national icon (圣像) to neglected animal came about is a tale of worsening environmental and the changing lives of the Thais themselves. According to Richard Lair, Thailand“s expert on the
5、 Asian elephant and author of the report Gone Astray, at the turn of the century there may well have been as many as 100,000 domestic elephants in the country. In the north of Thailand alone it was estimated that more than 20,000 elephants were employed in transport, 1,000 of them alone on the road
6、between the cities of Chiang Mai and Chiang Saen This was at a time when 90 per-cent of Thailand was still foresta habitat (栖息地) that not only supported the animals but also made them necessary to carry goods and people. Nothing ploughs through dense forest better than a massive but sure-footed elep
7、hant. By 1950 the elephant population had dropped to a still substantial 13,397, but today there are probably no more than 3,800, with another 1,350 roaming free in the national parks. But now, Thailand“s forest covers only 20 per cent of the land. This deforestation (采伐森林) is the central point of t
8、he elephant“s difficult situation, for it has effectively put the animals out of work. This century, as the road network grew, so the elephant“s role as a beast of burden declined.（分数：25.00）(1).What can we know about African elephants from the passage?（分数：5.00）A.It is easy to tame them.B.It is hard
9、to tame them.C.They are living a better life than Asian elephants.D.Their fate is quite similar to that of Asian elephants.(2).Thailand was once called “Land of the White Elephant“ because _.（分数：5.00）A.white elephant is rarely seen and thus very specialB.white elephant was a national symbol until th
10、e 1920sC.white elephant has helped kings to gain the ruling authorityD.this name was so romantic that it was popular among visitors(3).Why is the Thai elephant “out of work“, according to the author?（分数：5.00）A.Because the elephants are no longer useful to their owners.B.Because their owners are west
11、ernized and neglect them.C.Because the government pays little attention to the problem.D.Because there are too many elephants and too few jobs.(4).Which of the following statements is true about the elephant population at various times?（分数：5.00）A.There were 100,000 tamed elephants at the turn of the
12、 century.B.20,000 elephants were employed in transport in Thailand at the turn of the century.C.By 1950 the elephant population in Thailand has been quite small.D.Today the elephant population is estimated at 5,150.(5).The passage is most probably from _.（分数：5.00）A.a travel magazineB.a history bookC
13、.a research reportD.an official announcementThree key facts about rising sea levels need to be pointed out to the world“s politicians and planners: sea-level rise is now inevitable, it will happen faster than most of us thought, and it will go on for a very long time. Even if greenhouse gas emission
14、s stopped tomorrow, the oceans will continue to swell as they warm. The climate scientists estimate that sea-level rise could well be in the region of 1 to 2 metres by 2100, with a small risk of an even greater rise. For many islands and low-lying regions, even small rises will spell disasters. Most
15、 countries, however, will only lose a tiny percentage of their land, even with a very big rise. The problem is what has been built on that land: New York, Sydney and Tokyo, to mention just a few cities. Unless something can be done, great areas of urban network will vanish beneath the waves. It will
16、 take a massive engineering effort to protect these citiesan effort that may be beyond economies that have been brought to their knees by climate change. None of this means we should despair, and stop trying to ban emissions. But alongside these efforts, we need to start acting now to minimise the i
17、mpact of future sea-level rise. That means we must stop building in the danger zone. Countless billions are being spent on constructing homes, offices, factories and roads in vulnerable coastal areas. For instance, the skyscrapers of Shanghai are being built on land that is a mere 4 metres above sea
18、 level on average, and which is sinking under the weight of its buildings and as water is drawn from the rocks beneath them. In cities that have been around for hundreds of years, this sort of development may be understandable. But planning for new coastal developments is to go against reality. If w
19、e want to build a lasting heritage for our children, we should do so on the plentiful land that is in no danger from the sea. It is one of the easiest ways to slow down climate change, and we should be acting on it now.（分数：25.00）(1).What is the major cause of the rising sea levels?（分数：5.00）A.Greenho
20、use gas emissions.B.Overdevelopment.C.Governments“ indecision.D.Climatic changes.(2).New York, Sydney, and Tokyo are mentioned to illustrate the idea that _.（分数：5.00）A.world economy will collapse when sea levels riseB.modern cities are usually built along the coastlineC.the coastline is crucial for
21、developed countriesD.most countries will suffer when sea levels rise(3).The effort to protect the coastal cities may be beyond economies because _.（分数：5.00）A.economic development has been accelerating climate changeB.too much money has been spent on fighting climate changeC.climate change has got ec
22、onomies under its controlD.people have lost confidence in their economies(4).What is mentioned as the result of building many skyscrapers in Shanghai?（分数：5.00）A.The sea level on average is sinking.B.The land beneath is sinking.C.Water is drawn from the rocks beneath.D.Buildings become dangerous.(5).
23、“to go against reality“ (Line 2, Para.6) can be explained as _.（分数：5.00）A.impracticalB.unappealingC.courageousD.desirableCars and other road vehicles are the single main source of harmful nitrogen oxides. Road transport remains the biggest source of harmful air pollution in the EU despite efforts to
24、 reduce emissions over the past decades. A report published by the European Environment Agency (EEA.) shows that it is the single main source of nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and non-methane volatile organic compounds. It is also the second most important source of PM10 and PM2.5 particles. As we
25、ll as road transport, manufacturing industries, construction, the residential sector and agriculture are the main sources of air pollution in Europe today, the agency said. The EEA said: “Particulate matter from sources such as vehicle exhausts and residential heating can affect the lungs and harm p
26、eople of all ages, but it is known to pose an extra risk to those with existing heart and respiratory problems.“ “Air pollutants are also responsible for the acidification of forests and water ecosystems, and eutrophication of soils and watersleading to a limited supply of oxygen in rivers and lakes
27、.“ A spokesperson for campaign group T&E (the European Federation for Transport and Environment) told EDIE: “One of the key reasons that transport is still such a major cause of air pollution in Europe is because transport users rarely have to pay for the pollution they cause.“ “Currently Member Sta
28、tes are forbidden from including pollution charges in road tolls.“ “The Commission just last month proposed to change the rules, a move that we urge the Parliament and Ministers to support.“ “There are also some positive signs of change as London and a number of German cities have introduced low emi
29、ssion zones over the last year. But there is still a long way to go.“ According to the report, nitrogen oxide emissions decreased by 35% between 1990 and 2006, although the rate of decrease was just 1.8% in the final year of that period. Electricity and heat production remains the main source of sul
30、phur oxides emissions, followed by manufacturing industries and construction sources. In contrast, agricultural activities were responsible for the vast majority of ammonia emissionslivestock manure and fertilisers accounted for more than 90% of the emissions.（分数：25.00）(1).In order to control air po
31、llution in the past years, the EU has tried to _.（分数：5.00）A.impose strict laws on pollution controlB.cut down on the number of vehiclesC.restrict the sources of nitrogen oxidesD.trim the discharge of car exhausts(2).According to the EEA, what is the second most important source of PM10 and PM2.5 par
32、ticles?（分数：5.00）A.Air pollution.B.Nitrogen oxide.C.Road transport.D.Organic compounds.(3).What can we infer about “eutrophication“?（分数：5.00）A.It is resulted from air pollution.B.It comes from oxygen production.C.It brings about air pollution.D.It brings about oxygen production.(4).The campaign group
33、 T&E advocates that air pollution should be reduced by _.（分数：5.00）A.raising people“s awarenessB.imposing an economic stimulusC.increasing government fundingsD.calling for international cooperation(5).The report published by the EEA is aimed at revealing _.（分数：5.00）A.the types of air pollutantsB.the
34、effect of road transportC.me measures against air pollutionD.the prospect of environment protectionThe Earth comprises three principal layers: the dense, iron-rich core, the mantle made of silicate (硅酸盐)that are semi-molten at depth, and the thin, solid-surface crust. There are two kinds of crust, a
35、 lower and denser oceanic crust and an upper, lighter continental crust found over only about 40 percent of the Earth“s surface. The rocks of the crust are of very different ages. Some continental rocks are over 3,000 million years old, while those of the ocean floor are less than 200 million years
36、old. The crusts and the top, solid part of the mantle, totaling about 70 to 100 kilometers in thickness, at present appear to consist of about 15 rigid plates, 7 of which are very large. These plates move over the semi-molten lower mantle to produce all of the major topographical (地形学的) features of
37、the Earth. Active zones where intense deformation occurs are confined to the narrow, interconnecting boundaries of contact of the plates. There are three main types of zones of contact: spreading contacts where plates move apart, converging contacts where plates move towards each other, and transfor
38、m contacts where plates slide past each other. New oceanic crust is formed along one or more margins of each plate by material issuing from deeper layers of the Earth“s crust, for example, by volcanic eruptions (爆发) of lava (火山熔岩) at mid-ocean ridges. If at such a spreading contact the two plates su
39、pport continents, a rift (裂缝) is formed that will gradually widen and become flooded by the sea. The Atlantic Ocean formed like this as the American and Afro-European plates moved in opposite directions. When two plates carrying continents collide, the continental blocks, too light to be drawn down,
40、 continue to float and therefore buckle (起褶皱) to form a mountain chain along the length of the margin of the plates.（分数：25.00）(1).The Earth“s crust _.（分数：5.00）A.can be classified into two typesB.is formed along the margins of the platesC.consists of semi-molten rocksD.is about 70 to 100 kilometers t
41、hick(2).The 15 plates of the Earth are formed from _.（分数：5.00）A.the oceanic crusts and continental crustsB.the crusts and the mantleC.the crusts and the top and solid part of the mantleD.the continental crusts and the solid part of the mantle(3).Seriously-deformed zones appear _.（分数：5.00）A.whenever
42、the crusts move over mantleB.when the plates move towards each otherC.in the narrow boundaries where two plates meetD.to be the major topographical feature of the Earth(4).According to the second paragraph, the formation of the Atlantic Ocean is the example of _.（分数：5.00）A.spreading contactsB.the in
43、fluence of volcanic eruptionsC.converging contactsD.transform contacts(5).This passage is probably _.（分数：5.00）A.a newspaper advertisementB.a chapter of a novelC.an excerpt from a textbookD.a scientific report of new findings大学英语四级-128 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)
44、For centuries, in the countries of south and Southeast Asia the elephant has been an intimate part of the culture, economy and religion. And nowhere more so than in Thailand. Unlike its African cousin, the Asian elephant is easily domesticated (驯化). The rare so-called white elephants have actually l
45、ent the authority of kingship to its rulers and until the 1920s the national flag was a white elephant on a red background. To the early Western visitors the country“s romantic name was “Land of the White Elephant“. Today, however, the story is very different. Out of work and out of land, the Thai e
46、lephant struggles for survival in a nation that no longer needs it. The elephant has found itself more or less abandoned by previous owners who have moved on to a different economic world and a westernized society. And while the elephant“s problems began many years ago, now it rates a very low natio
47、nal priority. How this reversal from national icon (圣像) to neglected animal came about is a tale of worsening environmental and the changing lives of the Thais themselves. According to Richard Lair, Thailand“s expert on the Asian elephant and author of the report Gone Astray, at the turn of the cent
48、ury there may well have been as many as 100,000 domestic elephants in the country. In the north of Thailand alone it was estimated that more than 20,000 elephants were employed in transport, 1,000 of them alone on the road between the cities of Chiang Mai and Chiang Saen This was at a time when 90 p
49、er-cent of Thailand was still foresta habitat (栖息地) that not only supported the animals but also made them necessary to carry goods and people. Nothing ploughs through dense forest better than a massive but sure-footed elephant. By 1950 the elephant population had dropped to a still substantial 13,397, but today there are probably no more than 3,800, with another 1,350 roaming free in the national parks. But now, Thailand“s forest covers only 20 per cent of the land. This deforestation (采伐森林) is the central point of the elep
