1、大学英语四级分类模拟题 342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)In the early 20th century, few things were more appealing than the promise of scientific knowledge. In a world struggling with rapid industrialization, science and technology seemed to offer solutions to almost every prob
2、lem. Newly created state colleges and universities devoted themselves almost entirely to scientific, technological, and engineering fields. Many Americans came to believe that scientific certainty could not only solve scientific problems, but also reform politics, government, and business. Two world
3、 wars and a Great Depression rocked the confidence of many people that scientific expertise alone could create a prosperous and ordered world. After World War II, the academic world turned with new enthusiasm to humanistic studies, which seemed to many scholars the best way to ensure the survival of
4、 democracy. American scholars fanned out across much of the worldwith support from the Ford Foundation, the Fulbright program, etc.to promote the teaching of literature and the arts in an effort to make the case for democratic freedoms. In the America of our own time, the great educational challenge
5、 has become an effort to strengthen the teaching of what is now known as the STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering, and math). There is considerable and justified concern that the United States is falling behind much of the rest of the developed world in these essential disciplines. Ind
6、ia, China, Japan, and other regions seem to be seizing technological leadership. At the same time, perhaps inevitably, the humanitieswhile still popular in elite colleges and universitieshave experienced a significant decline. Humanistic disciplines are seriously underfunded, not just by the governm
7、ent and the foundations but by academic institutions themselves. Humanists are usually among the lowest-paid faculty members at most institutions and are often lightly regarded because they do not generate grant income and because they provide no obvious credentials (资质) for most nonacademic careers
8、. Undoubtedly American education should train more scientists and engineers. Much of the concern among politicians about the state of American universities today is focused on the absence of “real world“ educationwhich means preparation for professional and scientific careers. But the idea that inst
9、itutions or their students must decide between humanities and science is false. Our society could not sin-rive without scientific and technological knowledge. But we would be equally impoverished (贫困的) without humanistic knowledge as well. Science and technology teach us what we can do. Humanistic t
10、hinking helps us understand what we should do. It is almost impossible to imagine our society without thinking of the extraordinary achievements of scientists and engineers in building our complicated world. But try to imagine our world as well without the remarkable works that have defined our cult
11、ure and values. We have always needed, and we still need, both.（分数：20.00）(1).Why are humanists regarded lightly today?（分数：4.00）A.Their income is too high.B.They are short of scientific knowledge.C.They benefit little in people“s income and nonacademic job hunting.D.Humanistic disciplines are serious
12、ly underfunded.(2).Why is science and technology so popular in the early 20th century?（分数：4.00）A.Because it could promote the nation“s social progress.B.Because it would help raise people“s living standards.C.Because it quickened the pace of industrialization.D.Because they thought it can solve virt
13、ually all existing problems.(3).Why did so many humanists become enthusiastic about humanistic studies after World War II?（分数：4.00）A.They realized science and technology alone were no guarantee for a better world.B.They could get financial support from various foundations for humanistic studies.C.Th
14、ey wanted to improve their own status within the current education system.D.They believed the stability of a society depended heavily on humanistic studies.(4).What is the author“s opinion about today“s education?（分数：4.00）A.America is lagging behind in the STEM disciplines.B.Americans do not pay eno
15、ugh attention to humanistic studies.C.The STEM subjects are too challenging for students to learn.D.Some Asian countries have overtaken America in basic sciences.(5).Why does the author think making decision between humanities and science is false?（分数：4.00）A.Science can develop quickly without human
16、ities.B.They help prepare students for their professional careers.C.Humanistic thinking helps define our culture and values.D.Humanistic thinking helps us understand what we should do.The use of deferential language is symbolic of the Confucian ideal of the woman, which dominates conservative gender
17、 norms in Japan. This ideal presents a woman who withdraws quietly to the background, subordinating her life and needs to those of her family and its male head. She is a dutiful daughter, wife, and mother, master of the domestic arts. The typical refined Japanese woman excels in modesty and delicacy
18、; she “ treads softly (谨言慎行) in the world,“ elevating feminine beauty and grace to an art form. Nowadays, it is commonly observed that young women are not conforming to the feminine linguistic (语言的) ideal. They are using fewer of the very deferential “women“s“ forms, and even using the few strong fo
19、rms that are known as “men“s.“ This, of course, attracts considerable attention and has led to an outcry in the Japanese media against the defeminization of women“s language. Indeed, we didn“t hear about “men“s language“ until people began to respond to girls“ appropriation of forms normally reserve
20、d for boys and men. There is considerable sentiment about the “corruption“ of women“s languagewhich of course is viewed as part of the loss of feminine ideals and moralityand this sentiment is crystallized by nationwide opinion polls that are regularly carried out by the media. Yoshiko Matsumoto has
21、 argued that young women probably never used as many of the highly deferential forms as older women. This highly polite style is no doubt something that young women have been expected to “grow into“after all, it is assign not simply of femininity, but of maturity and refinement, and its use could be
22、 taken to indicate a change in the nature of one“s social relations as well. One might well imagine little girls using exceedingly polite forms when playing house or imitating older womenin a fashion analogous to little girls“ use of a high-pitched voice to do “teacher talk“ or “mother talk“ in role
23、 play. The fact that young Japanese women are using less deferential language is a sure sign of changeof social change and of linguistic change. But it is most certainly not a sign of the “masculization“ of girls. In some instances, it may be a sign that girls are making the same claim to authority
24、as boys and men, but that is very different from saying that they are trying to be “masculine.“ Katsue Reynolds has argued that girls nowadays are using more assertive language strategies in order to be able to compete with boys in schools and out. Social change also brings not simply different posi
25、tions for women and girls, but different relations to life stages, and adolescent girls are participating in new sub-cultural forms. Thus what may, to an older speaker, seem like “masculine“ speech may seem to an adolescent like “liberated“ or “hip“ speech.（分数：20.00）(1).Which is not a character of a
26、 typical refined Japanese woman?（分数：4.00）A.Modesty and delicacy.B.Beauty and grace to an art form.C.A little masculine.D.Influenced by Confucius on gender norms.(2).Today, young Japanese women have some changes in _ from the traditional ones.（分数：4.00）A.linguistic behaviorB.the deferential linguistic
27、 formsC.the form of male and female languageD.strong linguistic expressions(3).How do some people react to women“s appropriation of men“s language forms as reported in the Japanese media?（分数：4.00）A.They call for a campaign to stop the defeminization.B.The see it as an expression of women“s sentiment
28、.C.They accept it as a modern trend.D.They express strong disapproval.(4).The highly polite style _ according to Yoshiko Matsumoto.（分数：4.00）A.may lead to changes in social relationsB.has been true of all past generationsC.is viewed as a sign of their maturityD.is a result of rapid social progress(5)
29、.Katsue Reynolds believes the use of assertive language by young Japanese women is _.（分数：4.00）A.one of their strategies to compete in a male-dominated societyB.an inevitable trend of linguistic development in Japan todayC.a sure sign of their defeminization and maturationD.an indication of their def
30、iance against social changeWouldn“t it be great if you could just look up at the sky and read the weather forecast right away? Well, you can. The forecast is written in clouds. If you can read that writing, you can tell something about the atmosphere. With some practice, you can become a pretty good
31、 weather forecaster. Who knows, you might even do as well as meteorologists. Meteorologists use much more information than just the appearance of the clouds to make their forecast. They collect data from all over the world. Then they put it into powerful, high-speed computers. This does give the met
32、eorologists an advantage, because they can track weather patterns as they move from west to east across the country. But you have an advantage, too. You can look at the sky and get your data directly. A meteorologist uses a computer forecast that“s several hours old to make a local forecast. What ar
33、e you seeing when you look at a cloud? “A picture of moisture is doing in the atmosphere,“ says meteorologist Peter Leavitt. There“s moisture throughout the atmosphere. Most of the time you don“t see it, because it“s in the form of an invisible gas called water vapor. Sometimes, the temperature of t
34、he air gets cold enough to cause the water vapor to change to liquid water. It“s called condensation , and we see it happen all the time (for example, when humid air from the shower hits the cold glasses of a mirror). When enough water vapor condenses, droplets come in the air. These droplets scatte
35、r light. A cloud is seen. Watching clouds over a day or two tells you a lot more than a single cloud about the weather to come. Changes in clouds show changes in the atmosphere. You should begin to notice patterns. Certain clouds, following each other in order, can signal an approaching storm. But d
36、on“t take our word for it; see for yourself.（分数：20.00）(1).The word “condensation“ in paragraph three means _.（分数：4.00）A.water vaporB.the temperature of the airC.humid airD.water vapor changes to liquid water when the air is cold enough(2).What does “meteorologists“ refer to _.（分数：4.00）A.people who s
37、tudy the earth“s atmosphere and its changesB.people who broadcast weather on TVC.people who are in charge of weather forecastD.people who study the earth“s rocks the history of its development(3).If you want to learn weather forecasts, you“d better _.（分数：4.00）A.watch it on TVB.watching clouds fluent
38、ly in one day or twoC.buy more instruments at homeD.watch a single cloud in the sky(4).Meteorologists make their weather forecast by _.（分数：4.00）A.watching clouds constantlyB.collecting data from parts of the worldC.calculating analyzing datasD.watching the sky(5).This passage mainly tells us about h
39、ow to _.（分数：4.00）A.broadcast the weather forecastB.forecast the weather by ourselvesC.train yourself as a meteorologistD.be an assistant to a meteorologistThere is nothing like the suggestion of a cancer risk to scare a parent, especially one of the over-educated, eco-conscious type. So you can imag
40、ine the reaction when a recent USA Today investigation of air quality around the nation“s schools singled out those in the smugly green village of Berkeley, Calif, as being among the worst in the country. The city“s public high school, as well as a number of daycare centers, preschools, elementary a
41、nd middle schools, fell in the lowest 10%. Industrial pollution in our town had supposedly turned students into living science experiments breathing in a laboratory“s worth of heavy metals like manganese (锰), chromium (铬) and nickel (镍) each day. This in a city that requires school cafeterias to ser
42、ve organic meals. Great, I thought, organic lunch, toxic campus. Since December, when the report came out, the mayor, neighborhood activists and various parent-teacher associations have engaged in a fierce battle over its validity: over the guilt of the steel-casting factor5, on the western edge of
43、town, over union jobs versus children“s health and over what, if anything, ought to be done. With all sides presenting their own experts armed with conflicting scientific studies, whom should parents believe? Is there truly a threat here, we asked one another as we dropped off our kids, and if so, h
44、ow great is it? And how does it compare with the other, seemingly perpetual health scares we confront, like panic over lead in synthetic athletic fields? Rather than just another weird episode in the town that brought you protesting environmentalists, this latest drama is a trial for how today“s par
45、ents perceive risk, how we try to keep our kids safewhether it“s possible to keep them safein what feels like an increasingly threatening world. It raises the question of what, in our time, “safe“ could even mean. “There“s no way around the uncertainty,“ says Kimberly Thompson, president of Kid Risk
46、, a nonprofit group that studies children“s health. “That means your choices can matter, but it also means you aren“t going to know if they do.“ A 2004 report in the journal Pediatrics explained that nervous parents have more to fear from fire, car accidents and drowning than from toxic chemical exp
47、osure. To which I say: Well, obviously. But such concrete hazards are beside the point. It“s the dangers parents can“tand may neverquantify that occur all of sudden. That“s why I“ve rid my cupboard of microwave food packed in bags coated with a potential cancer-causing substance, but although I“ve l
48、ived blocks from a major fault line (地质断层) for more than 12 years, I still haven“t bolted our bookcases to the living room wall.（分数：20.00）(1).Parents are _ with the experts“ studies.（分数：4.00）A.happyB.frightened by the evidenceC.uncertain and doubtedD.relieved(2).The investigation by USA Today reveal
49、ed that _.（分数：4.00）A.heavy metals in lab tests threaten children“s health in BerkeleyB.parents in Berkeley are over worried about cancer risks their kids may faceC.the air around Berkeley“s school campuses is pollutedD.berkeley residents are quite contented with their surroundings(3).USA Today“s report has _.（分数：4.00）A.caused panic in parents in BerkeleyB.gained popular supportC.brought strong criticismD.caused a fierce debate(4).The report in the journal Pediatrics showed that _.（分数：4.00）A.it is important to quantify va
