1、大学英语四级 237及答案解析(总分：746.58，做题时间：130 分钟)一、Writing (30 minutes)(总题数：1，分数：30.00)1.For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a letter of refusal. You should write at least 120 words, and base your composition on the outline given below in Chinese: 假设朋友 Gary 邀请你参加一个聚会，但你因故不能参加，写信向他说明原因，并祝聚会成功。 （分
2、数：30.00）_二、Reading Comprehensio(总题数：1，分数：71.00)Wild Foods of Australia Over 120 years ago, the English botanist (植物学家) J.D. Hooker, writing of Australia edible plants, suggested that many of them were eatable but not worth eating. Nevertheless, the Australian flora (植物群), together with the fauna 动物群
3、), supported the Aboriginal people before the arrival of Europeans. The Aborigines were not farmers and were wholly dependent for life on the wild products around them. They learned to eat, often after treatment, a wide variety of plants. The conquering Europeans displaced the Aborigines, killing ma
4、ny, driving others from their traditional tribal lands, and eventually settling many of the tribal remains on government reserves, where flour and beef replaced nardoo (大柄苹) and wallaby (小袋鼠) as main foods. And so, gradually, the vast store of knowledge, accumulated over thousands of years, fell int
5、o disuse. Much was lost. However, a few European men took an intelligent and even respectful interest in the people who were being displaced. Explorers, missionaries, botanists, naturalists and government officials observed, recorded and, fortunately in some cases, published. Today, we can draw on t
6、hese publications to form the main basis of our knowledge of the edible, natural products of Australia. The picture is no doubt mostly incomplete. We can only guess the number of edible plant on which no observation was recorded. Not all our information on the subject comes from the aborigines. Time
7、s were hard in the early days of European settlement, and traditional foods were often in short supply or impossibly expensive for a pioneer trying to establish a farm in the bush. And so necessity led to experimentation, just as it must have done for the Aborigines, and experimentation led to some
8、lucky results. So far as is know, the Aborigines made no use of Leptospermum or Dodonaea as food plants, yet the early settlers found that one could be used as a substitute for tea and the other for hops (啤酒花).These plants are not closely related to the species they replaced, so their use was not ba
9、sed on botanical observation. Probably some experiments have less happy endings; L. J. Webb has used the expression eat, die and learn in connection with the Aboriginal experimentation, but it was the successful attempts that became widely known. It is possible the edibility of some native plants us
10、ed by the Aborigines was discovered independently by the European settlers or their descendants. Explorers making long expeditions found it impossible to carry sufficient food for the whole journey and were forced to rely, in part, on food that they could find on the way. Still another source of inf
11、ormation comes from the practice in other countries. There are many species from northern Australia which occur also in southeast Asia, where they are used for food. In general, those Aborigines living in the dry inland areas were largely dependent for their vegetable foods on seed such as those of
12、grasses, acacias (刺槐, 毛洋槐) and eucalypts (桉树). They ground these seeds between flat stones to make coarse flour. Tribes on the coast, and particularly those in the neighborhood of coastal rainforests, had a more varied vegetable diet with a higher proportion of fruits and tubers. Some of the coastal
13、 plants, even if they had grown inland, probably would have been unavailable as food since they required prolonged washing or soaking to render them non-poisonous; many of the inland tribes could not obtain water in the quantities necessary for such treatment. There was also considerable variation i
14、n the edible plants available to Aborigines in different latitudes. In general, the people who lived in the moist tropical areas enjoyed a much greater variety than those in the southern part of Australia. With all the hundreds of plants species used for food by the Australian Aborigines, it is perh
15、aps surprising that only one, the Queensland nut, has entered into commercial cultivation as a food plant The reason for this probably does not lie with an intrinsic(本质的) lack of potential in Australian flora, but rather with the lack of exploitation of this potential. In Europeans came, the Aborigi
16、nes practiced on agriculture and so there was no opportunity for such improvement, either deliberate or unconscious, in the quality of the edible plants. Since 1788, there has, of course, been opportunity for selection of Australian food plants which might have led to the production of varieties tha
17、t were worth cultivating. But Australian plants have probably missed the bus. Food plants from other regions were already so far in advance after a long tradition of cultivation that it seemed hardly worth starting working on Australian species. Undoubtedly, the native raspberry, for example, could,
18、 with suitable selection and breeding programs, be made to yield a high-class fruit; but Australians already enjoy good raspberries (树莓) from other areas of the world and unless some dedicated amateur plant breeder takes up the task, the Australian raspberries are likely to remain unimproved. And so
19、, today, as the choice of which food plants to cultivate in Australia has been largely decided, and as there is little chance of being lost long periods in the bush, our interest in the subject of Australian food plants tends to relate to natural history rather than to practical necessity. （分数：71.00
20、）(1).Most of the pre-European Aboriginal knowledge of wild foods has been recovered.（分数：7.10）A.YB.NC.NG(2).There were few food plants unknown to pre-European Aborigines.（分数：7.10）A.YB.NC.NG(3).Europeans learned all of a plant used for food by both pre-European Aborigines and European settlers.（分数：7.1
21、0）A.YB.NC.NG(4).Dodonaea is an example of a plants used for food by both pre-European Aborigines and European settlers.（分数：7.10）A.YB.NC.NG(5).Some Australian food plants are botanically related to plants outside Australia.（分数：7.10）A.YB.NC.NG(6).Pre-European Aboriginal tribes closer to the coast had
22、access to a greater variety of food plants then tribes further inland.（分数：7.10）A.YB.NC.NG(7).Some species of coastal food plants were also found inland.（分数：7.10）A.YB.NC.NG(8).So far as is know, the Aborigines made no use of_ as food plants.（分数：7.10）_(9).With all the hundreds of plants species used f
23、or food by the Australian Aborigines, only_ has entered into commercial cultivation as a food plant.（分数：7.10）_(10).Today, our interests in the subject of Australian food plants are more concerned with_ rather than_.（分数：7.10）_三、Listening Comprehens(总题数：1，分数：15.00)A.Shed watched the movie a long time
24、ago.B.She left before the movie was half over.C.She saw only half the movie before.D.She realized the film was 4 years old.A.Hes been looking everywhere for the puzzle.B.He hardly looked at the puzzle.C.His comment puzzled the woman.D.He thought the puzzle would be easier to solve.A.Try it on.B.Pain
25、t a picture of it.C.Hammer a nail with it.D.Throw it away.A.Anger.B.Surprise.C.Confusion.D.Happiness.A.Go to a lecture.B.Call her sister.C.Attend a planning meeting.D.Go bowling.A.After class today.B.After todays meeting.C.After class on Friday.D.Before class on Friday.A.She just got a job at a flor
26、ists shop.B.She needs to go shopping before dinner.C.She got a lot of flowers for the party.D.She has to clean up the dining room.A.They should go to the coffee shop now.B.They needed to change the location of their meeting.C.She wants to buy some more coffee.D.Theyll have to change the location of
27、their meeting.四、Section B(总题数：2，分数：10.00)A.What job the son is to take after graduation.B.Whether the son should leave home forever.C.Where and how the son lives in London.D.What the sons friend is like.A.No place to live in.B.No friend to share a flat.C.No job to live on.D.No parent to depend on.A.
28、She has no objection.B.She is a little worried.C.She is very supportive.D.She is very pleased.A.Very cautious.B.Quite enthusiastic.C.Very sensitive.D.A little indifferent.A.The apartment is too far from the campus.B.The apartment needs a lot of repair work.C.Shes having trouble with the owner of the
29、 apartment.D.Her roommate wont share expenses.A.Find another apartment.B.Talk to Ms. Connors.C.Ask Sam to repair the dishwasher.D.Buy a new dishwasher for the owner.A.He has some knowledge of the law.B.He had the same problem.C.He knows the owner.D.He can bring a lawsuit against the owner.A.2.4 chil
30、dren.B.2 children.C.4.2 children.D.4 children.A.They are usually quiet small.B.The house usually stand in rows.C.They have front and back gardens.D.Houses are not so common as flats or apartments in Britain.A.To make money.B.To guard the house.C.To enjoy their company.D.To keep them for their grandp
31、arents.A.He has had thirteen decayed teeth.B.He doesnt have a single decayed tooth.C.He has fewer decayed teeth than all other people.D.He never had a single tooth pulled out.A.Coca Cola.B.Sausage.C.Milk.D.Fried chicken.A.Brush your teeth right before you go to bed in the evening.B.Have as few of yo
32、ur teeth pulled out as possible.C.Have your teeth X-rayed at regular intervals.D.Clean your teeth shortly after eating.A.An actress.B.A photographer.C.A director.D.A driver.A.Because he wanted to have it in his new book of photographs.B.Because he thought she was beautiful.C.Because he thought she w
33、as talented.D.Because he was in love with her.A.She always tried to avoid her fans.B.She didnt like photographers and news reporters.C.She was tall.D.She had a beautiful car.六、Section C(总题数：1，分数：10.00)One night in April 1912, a huge new (36) 1liner, the Titanic, was (37) 2the Atlantic. She was just
34、about the most (38) 3ship that had ever been built. She was going very fast, which was (39) 4because there were icebergs around and it was very dark that night. The passengers were all having a good time when the ship suddenly ( 40 ) 5one of the icebergs. The ship began to (41) 6and the passengers t
35、ried to (42) 7, but there were not enough lifeboats since nobody thought they would ever be necessary. Eight white rockets were (43) 8into the air in order to get help. Another ship, the Californian, was passing nearby. An officer and another sailor on it saw the rockets. (44) 9 and were just firing
36、 the rockets in fun. Anyway they did wake the captain. But the captain was too sleepy to understand and the Californian just went on sailing away, in another direction. When the Titanic finally went down, (45) 10. They were trying to keep the passengers calm. Two thirds of the passengers were drowne
37、d. (46) 11. （分数：10.00）填空项 1:_填空项 1:_填空项 1:_填空项 1:_填空项 1:_填空项 1:_填空项 1:_填空项 1:_填空项 1:_填空项 1:_填空项 1:_七、Reading Comprehensio(总题数：2，分数：355.00)In 1993, New York State ordered stores to charge a deposit on beverage (饮料) containers. Within a year, consumers had returned millions of aluminum cans and glass
38、and plastic bottles. Plenty of companies were eager to accept the aluminum and glass as raw materials for new products, but because few could figure out what to do with the plastic, much of it wound up buried in landfills (垃圾填埋场). The problem was not limited to New York. Unfortunately, there were to
39、o few uses for second-hand plastic. Today, one out of five plastic soda bottles is recycled (回收利用) in the United States. The reason for the change is that now there are dozens of companies across the country buying discarded plastic soda bottles and turning them into fence posts, paint brushes, etc.
40、 As the New York experience shows, recycling involves more than simply separating valuable materials from the rest of the rubbish. A discard remains a discard until somebody figures out how to give it a second life - and until economic arrangements exist to give that second life value. Without adequ
41、ate markets to absorb materials collected for recycling, throwaways actually depress prices for used materials. Shrinking landfill space, and rising costs for burying and burning rubbish are forcing local governments to look more closely at recycling. In many areas, the East Coast especially, recycl
42、ing is already the least expensive waste-management option. For every ton of waste recycled, a city avoids paying for its disposal, which, in parts of New York, amounts to savings of more than $100 per ton. Recycling also stimulates the local economy by creating jobs and trims the pollution control
43、and energy costs of industries that make recycled products By giving them a more refined raw material. （分数：177.50）(1).What regulation was issued by New York State concerning beverage containers?（分数：35.50）A.A fee should be charged on used containers for recycling.B.Throwaways should be collected by t
44、he state for recycling.C.Consumers had to pay for beverage containers and could get their money back on returning them.D.Beverage companies should be responsible for collecting and reusing discarded plastic soda bottles.(2).The returned plastic bottles in New York used to _.（分数：35.50）A.be turned int
45、o raw materialsB.be separated from other rubbishC.have a second-life valueD.end up somewhere underground(3).The key problem in dealing with returned plastic beverage containers is（分数：35.50）A.how to reduce their recycling costsB.to sell them at a profitable priceC.how to turn them into useful thingsD
46、.to lower the prices for used materials(4).Recycling has become the first choice for the disposal of rubbish because _.（分数：35.50）A.recycling causes little pollutionB.other methods are more expensiveC.recycling has great appeal for the joblessD.local governments find it easy to manage(5).It can be co
47、ncluded from the passage that _.（分数：35.50）A.recycling is to be recommended both economically and environmentallyB.local governments in the U.S. can expect big profits from recyclingC.rubbish is a potential remedy for the shortage of raw materialsD.landfills will still be widely used for waste disposalScratchy throats, stuffy noses and body aches all spell misery, but being able to tell if the cause is a cold or flu (流感) may make a difference in how long the misery lasts. The American Lung Association (ALA) has issued new guidelines on combating colds and the flu, an
