1、大学英语四级-269 及答案解析(总分：100.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、Reading Comprehensio(总题数：0，分数：0.00)A Benefit of Getting Slightly DrunkArtists have long claimed alcohol and other drugs as muses (创作的灵感) for their creativity. But is there really a connection between drunkenness and inspiration? A recent study published in Con
2、sciousness and Cognition explored the effects of moderate drunkenness on people“s creativity. The authors suggest that alcohol“s well-known effect in impairing (损害) executive function may be helpful for some types of creative problems: “Sometimes a reduced ability to control one“s attention can have
3、 positive implications for select cognitive tasks,“ they write. The findings raise the question of whether drugs that increase attention and focus, in particular, stimulants (兴奋剂), would have the opposite effect on creative thinking. Very little research has been done on the issue, and what results
4、exist so far have been mixed. The outcomes may well vary according to individual responses to the drugs. For example, some research has found that while stimulants can improve test performance for those who are less intelligent, for the smartest folks, the drugs can have the opposite effect. If less
5、 executive function is linked to more creativity, this may also help explain why artists, writers and musicians appear to be more likely to have an addiction. Perhaps creative people are more likely than others to be attracted to drugs in the first place, as a possible source of inspiration. And the
6、n, if reduced executive function is responsible in part for their initial talent, this, too, could make them more susceptible to addiction once they start using. Having less executive control before you even take drugs means you“ll have less ability to stop once you start. Whatever the real relation
7、ship between drunkenness, addiction and art, the authors caution that their study findings don“t give people license to get drunk to “inspire the muse“. Co-author Jennifer Wiley, associate professor of psychology at the University of Illinois at Chicago, told the British Psychological Society“s Rese
8、arch Digest : “We tested what happens when people are slightly drunknot when people drank to extreme. There could be no argument from these findings that drinking excessively would have the same effects.“ A glass of wine or two, however, may occasionally help.（分数：12.50）(1).Artists perceive alcohol a
9、nd other drugs can _.（分数：2.50）A.see more beautyB.clear their mindC.improve their healthD.inspire their creativity(2).What do the authors suggest in the recent study?（分数：2.50）A.Alcohol may affect executive function.B.Alcohol may have passive implications.C.Alcohol may decrease the ability to concentr
10、ate.D.Alcohol may help solve some creative problems.(3).What can be learned from Paragraph 3?（分数：2.50）A.Drugs are proved to prevent creative thinking.B.Very little research has been done on drugs.C.Drugs“ influence on creativity is uncertain at present.D.Stimulants can make people become more intell
11、igent.(4).What does the word “ susceptible “ (Line 6, Para. 3) mean?（分数：2.50）A.Doubtful.B.Worried.C.Quickly get rid of.D.Easily influenced.(5).What does Jennifer Wiley want to tell us?（分数：2.50）A.Their findings do not apply to excessive drinking.B.Excessive drinking can only bring harmful influences.
12、C.People may have a try to get drunk to obtain inspiration.D.Drinking is not really a muse for artists“ creativity.China“s Property Market: End of the Golden EraAfter years of talking up China“s gravity-defying property markets, local land kings are now singing a darker tune. On May 26th 2014 Yu Lia
13、ng, the president of Vanke, China“s biggest developer, declared that the “golden era“ in which “everybody makes money out of property is gone“. That came on the heels of comments by Pan Shiyi, the boss of Soho China, another property firm, likening the country“s real-estate (不动产) sector to the Titan
14、ic: “It will soon hit an iceberg.“ Official data show the country“s property market is indeed coming down to earth. During the first four months of 2014, the value of residential sales fell by nearly 10% versus a year ago, and construction activity on new homes fell by a quarter. The decline on a mo
15、nth-to-month basis is even more striking. Why is the market losing steam? One explanation is that there is too much building going on. Cooling demand is another reason. Despite a cultural strong liking for propertyno bachelor can hope to win over a desirable bride if he does not own a homeit seems t
16、hat customers may now be ready to put off their purchases. After years of double-digit (两位数的) growth, the economy is slowing. More importantly, recent price cuts of a third or more being offered by developers in some markets have started to worry would-be buyers. These bargains are now available in
17、wealthy coastal cities and not just in smaller cities in remote areas. Zhiwei Zhang of Nomura, an investment bank, acknowledges the problem of structural oversupply but still believes that recent policy shifts are the main factor. Pointing to a close correlation between property-market behaviour and
18、 money supply, he says the market correction was triggered mainly by the monetary-policy tightening that began in the middle of 2013. Not everyone is worried. Some think the price cuts will lead to another market rebound (反弹).Others hope policy easing will do the trick. Many big cities still enforce
19、 policies to curb purchases, argue optimists, so there may yet be pent-up (被抑制的) demand. That is a theory that may soon come to be tested.（分数：12.50）(1).What do Pan Shiyi“s words mean?（分数：2.50）A.The property market is going downhill.B.The property market will soon disappear.C.The property market dese
20、rves attention.D.The property market has large influence.(2).Which of the following can explain the decline of the property market?（分数：2.50）A.People do not want to buy houses anymore.B.There are too many houses being built.C.Customers are waiting the housing prices to decline.D.There are less people
21、 and thus less demand of houses.(3).What made the would-be buyers start to worry?（分数：2.50）A.Current slow economy.B.Poor quality of the new houses.C.Rising housing price in cities.D.Constant housing price cuts.(4).What“s the main reason for the market correction according to Zhiwei Zhang?（分数：2.50）A.M
22、onetary-policy tightening.B.Sufficient money supply.C.Less investment banks.D.Too much housing supply.(5).What can we know from the last paragraph?（分数：2.50）A.The decreasing price will stimulate purchase.B.Easing policy will revive the property market.C.Big cities still need to curb housing purchases
23、.D.The future of the property market is hard to say.The Benefit of “Marrying Down“Today, a successful single woman who falls for a man making less money than she does or not sharing her career ambition may face not-so-subtle disapproval from friends and family and be considered as she is “marrying d
24、own“. As a couples therapist, the notion of marrying down strikes me as impossibly out of date. It“s right out of the “Downton Abbey“ era, when suitable marriages were entirely a matter of matching people according to social class and fortune hence the panic when Lord Grantham“s youngest daughter ma
25、rries the family“s Irish driver. The notion that women should “marry up“ endured well past the most prosperous period of the English gentry (贵族), and the most successful breadwinners were considered the most desirable mates. Well into the 20th century, relatively few high-paying jobs were available
26、to women, so for the most part, women went to college to get their M.R.S., or maybe to land the kind of work that would put them near the right professional men. Today, more women than men are graduating from college and graduate school. Pew Research, which has been compiling data on the topic over
27、the past 50 years, reported that in 2012, 27% of newly-married women married a spouse with less education, while only 15% of newly-married men did the same. More education doesn“t necessarily lead to greater earning power. In most U.S. cities, single, childless women under 30 now make more money tha
28、n their male peers, according to the analysis by Reach Advisors, a research firm. For most strong, successful women, the alpha male (大男子主义者) of old isn“t the best match: The alpha male will assume that his priorities should dominate, while the alpha woman will assert hers. And that is the problem th
29、at is hardest to deal with. What high-achieving women need are men strong enough to support their achievements, contribute to the household in services and/or money, and be loving partners. Today“s romances suggest that growing numbers of smart women and men are marrying neither up nor downthey“re j
30、ust marrying the right person.（分数：12.50）(1).What do current people think about a successful single woman“s marrying a man with less money?（分数：2.50）A.They slightly approve of such a marriage.B.They think the man should be ashamed.C.They don“t quite support such a marriage.D.They don“t think money is
31、important.(2).What were considered when matching people in the “Downton Abbey“ era?（分数：2.50）A.Age and interests.B.Blood and age.C.Job and class.D.Fortune and class.(3).What was the main reason that women went to college in the 20th century?（分数：2.50）A.They wanted to get well-paid jobs.B.They wanted t
32、o be financially independent.C.They wanted to become professional.D.They wanted to find a satisfying husband.(4).Why the alpha male and successful women are not well matched?（分数：2.50）A.They do not know how to compromise.B.They care much about other people“s feelings.C.They are too busy to take care
33、of each other.D.They are both very ambitious.(5).What does the author think about today“s marriage?（分数：2.50）A.More and more people are marrying up.B.More and more people are marrying down.C.More and more people get married for love.D.More and more people get married for money.Devastating Human Impac
34、t on the Amazon Rainforest RevealedThe human impact on the Amazon rainforest has been grossly underestimated according to researchers from Brazil and the UK. They found that selective logging (砍伐树木) and surface wildfires can result in an annual loss of 54 billion tonnes of carbon from the Brazilian
35、Amazon, increasing greenhouse gas emissions. This is equivalent to 40% of the yearly carbon loss from deforestation (砍伐森林) when entire forests are chopped down. This is the largest ever study estimating the above and below-ground carbon loss from selective logging and ground level forest fires in th
36、e tropics, based on data from 70,000 sampled trees and thousands of soil, rubbish and dead wood samples from 225 sites in the eastern Brazilian Amazon. The forest degradation (退化) often starts with logging of prized trees. Once the forest has been logged, the many gaps in the canopy (林冠) means it be
37、comes much drier due to exposure to the wind and sun, increasing the risk of wildfires spreading inside the forest. The combination of selective logging and wildfires damages turns primary forests into a thick scrub (发育不良的矮树丛) full of smaller trees and plants, which stores 40% less carbon than undis
38、turbed forests. So far, climate change policies on the tropics have effectively been focusing on reducing carbon emissions from deforestation only, not accounting for emissions coming from forest degradation. Lead researcher Dr. Erika Berenguer from Lancaster University said, “The impacts of fire an
39、d logging in tropical forests have always been largely overlooked by both the scientific community and policy makers who are primarily concerned with deforestation. Yet our results show how these disturbances can severely degrade the forest, with huge amounts of carbon being transferred from plant m
40、atter straight into the atmosphere.“ The second author, Dr. Joice Ferreira from Embrapa in Brazil, said, “Our findings also draw attention to the necessity for Brazil to implement more effective policies for reducing the use of fire in agriculture, as fires can both completely destroy private proper
41、ty, and escape into surrounding forests causing widespread degradation. Bringing fire and illegal logging under control is key to reaching our national commitment to reducing carbon emissions.“（分数：12.50）(1).What is the possible result of selective logging and surface wildfires in the Amazon rainfore
42、st?（分数：2.50）A.More carbon is released.B.More greenhouse gas is released.C.The whole forest gets cut down.D.45 billion tonnes of carbon is lost.(2).What do we know about the study?（分数：2.50）A.it was done by researchers from Brazil and the U.S.B.It was the largest study that ever done in the tropics.C.
43、It explored the above and below-ground gas emission.D.It collected samples from the eastern Brazilian Amazon.(3).Which kind of trees does the forest degradation often begin to log?（分数：2.50）A.Big trees.B.Cherished trees.C.Trees that grow fast.D.Trees of practical value.(4).What will happen if there a
44、re many gaps in the canopy?（分数：2.50）A.The forest will become much drier.B.The forest will need much more fertilizer.C.There will be more wildfires inside the forest.D.There will be less and less trees and plants.(5).What is crucial for the government to reduce carbon emissions?（分数：2.50）A.Restrict th
45、e use of fire in life.B.Plant more trees and plants.C.Control fire and illegal logging.D.Protect the forest from the wind and sun.Speaking Two Languages Can Delay DementiasNew research suggests that speaking more than one language may delay different kinds of dementia (痴呆), that is the lost of menta
46、l ability. In fact, researchers say, speaking two languages appears to be more important than the level of education in defending against dementias. A study in India examined the effect of knowing more than one language in delaying the first signs of several disorders. Researchers studied nearly 650
47、 people whose average age was 66. 240 of those studied suffered from Alzheimer“s (老年痴呆), the most common form of mental decline. 391 of the subjects spoke two or more languages. Investigators found the dementias began about four-and-a-half years later in those who spoke two languages compared to tho
48、se who spoke only one language. Thomas Bak helped to organise the study. He is with the Center of Cognitive Aging at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. He suggests that individuals who speak more than one language train their brains by moving back and forth between different words and expressi
49、ons. Mr. Bak believes this effort improves what scientists called executive functioning or attention to tasks, this mental ability often weakens in people with dementias. Researchers found there was no extra gain in speaking more than two languages. They also did not see a delay in the first signs of Lewy bodies dementia (路易体痴呆症), the disorder causes patients to see or experience things that do not real exist. They can also cause sufferers to move back and forth between being wide awake and really sleeping. Mr. Bak says it does not appear important whether you learn a language at a y
