1、公共英语四级-46 及答案解析(总分：100.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、Section Reading Co(总题数：0，分数：0.00)二、Part A(总题数：0，分数：0.00)三、Text 1(总题数：1，分数：15.00)Revolutionary innovation is now occurring in all scientific and technological fields. This wave of unprecedented change is driven primarily by advances in information technology, bu
2、t it is much larger in scope. We are not dealing simply with an Information Revolution but with a Technology Revolution. To anticipate developments in this field, the George Washington University Forecast of Emerging Technologies was launched at the start of the 1990s. We have now completed four rou
3、nds of our Delphi surveyin 1990, 1992, 1994, and 1996giving us a wealth of data and experience. We now can offer a reasonably clear picture of what can be expected to happen in technology over the next three decades. Time horizons play a crucial role in forecasting technology. Forecasts of the next
4、five to ten years are often so predictable that they fall into the realm of market research, while those more than 30 or 40 years away are mostly speculation. This leaves a 10-to 20-year window in which to make useful forecasts. It is this time frame that our Forecast addresses. The Forecast uses di
5、verse methods, including environmental scanning, trend analysis, Delphi surveys, and model building. Environmental scanning is used to identify emerging technologies. Trend analysis guides the selection of the most important technologies for further study, and a modified Delphi survey is used to obt
6、ain forecasts. Instead of using the traditional Delphi method of providing respondents with immediate feedback and requesting additional estimates in order to arrive at a consensus, we conduct another survey after an additional time period of about two years. Finally, the results are portrayed in ti
7、me periods to build models of unfolding technological change. By using multiple methods instead of relying on a single approach, the Forecast can produce more reliable, useful estimates. For our latest survey conducted in 1996, we selected 85 emerging technologies representing the most crucial advan
8、ces that can be foreseen. We then submitted the list of technologies to our panel of futurists for their judgments as to when (or if) each technological development would enter the mainstream, the probability that it would happen, and the estimated size of the economic market for it. In short, we so
9、ught a forecast as to when each emerging technology will have actually “emerged.“（分数：15.00）(1).What we are faced with at present can be best described as a revolution in（分数：3.00）A.information.B.advanced method.C.science.D.technology.(2).The purpose of the Delphi survey is to（分数：3.00）A.foresee future
10、 technologies.B.influence future technologies.C.provide new technologies.D.design new technologies.(3).Market researchers focus on the technologies that will emerge in（分数：3.00）A.510 years.B.1020 years.C.2030 years.D.3040 years.(4).Various research methods are employed in order to（分数：3.00）A.reach a c
11、onsensus of opinions.B.provide immediate feedback.C.increase the accuracy of predictions.D.select crucial technologies.(5).The job of the futurist is to（分数：3.00）A.estimate the frequency of technological developments.B.forecast the significant technologies of the future.C.prepare the potential market
12、 for each technology.D.adjust the time of arrival of new technologies.四、Text 2(总题数：1，分数：15.00)With a new Congress drawing near, Democrats and Republicans are busily designing competing economic stimulus packages. The Republicans are sure to offer tax cuts, the Democratsamong other thingsfinancial re
13、lief for the states. There is one measure, however, that would provide not only an immediate boost to the economy but also immediate relief to those most in need: a carefully crafted extension of the federal unemployment insurance program. The Senate approved such an extension before it adjourned in
14、 November. The House of Representatives refused to go along. It was among the greatest failures of the 107 th Congress. One consequence is that jobless benefits for an estimated 780,000 Americans will abruptly stop tomorrow, even though most recipients have not yet exhausted their benefits. Presiden
15、t Bush failed to show any leadership on this matter during the November Congress. Later, he finally asked Congress to extend the program for these workers and to make the benefits effective from Dec. 28. That“s not enough. The way unemployment insurance typically works is that states provide laid-of
16、f workers with 26 weeks of benefits, followed by 13 weeks of federal aid. Under Mr. Bush“s scheme, federal benefits would be extended only for those who were already receiving them on Dec. 28. The extension would not cover the jobless workers who will exhaust their regular state-funded benefits afte
17、r Dec. 28an estimated 95,000 every weekbut will receive no federal help unless the program is re-authorized. By the end of March, 1.2 million workers could fall into this category. The Senate saw this problem coming, and under the leadership of Hillary Rodham Clinton for New York and Don Nickles of
18、Oklahoma, passed a bill that would not only have covered people already enrolled in the federal program but provided 13 weeks of assistance for those losing their state benefits in the new year. The House, for largely trivial reasons, refused to go along. Bill Frist, the new Senate majority leader,
19、says he is looking for ways to put a kinder, gentler face on the Republican Party. Passing the Clinton-Nickles bill would be a good way to begin. The House should then follow suit. One of the House“s complaints last year was that, at $ 5 billion, the Clinton-Nickles bill was too expensive. That“s ri
20、diculous, considering the costs of the tax cuts that House Republicans have in mind. The unemployment rate last month stood at 6 percent, the highest since mid-1994. The country could use a $ 5 billion shot in the arm right about now. So could a lot of increasingly desperate people.（分数：15.00）(1).Acc
21、ording to the author, the proposed extension is（分数：3.00）A.what the coming Congress should reconsider.B.excluded from the economic stimulus packages.C.a relief program carefully designed by the House.D.put forward by both Republicans and Democrats.(2).What does the author refer to as one of the great
22、est failures of the 107 th Congress?（分数：3.00）A.The House of Representatives did not agree with the Senate.B.The unemployment insurance extension was not approved.C.A boost to the economy was not provided.D.Relief to those in need was not offered.(3).Who may benefit from the Clinton-Nickles bill?（分数：
23、3.00）A.Only those enrolled in the federal program.B.The estimated 95,000 unemployed workers.C.Just those exhausting their state-funded benefits.D.Laid-off workers, with or without federal benefits.(4).Why did the author say the House“s complaint was ridiculous?（分数：3.00）A.The reasons it offers are la
24、rgely insignificant.B.The Clinton-Nickles bill was too expensive.C.Its tax cuts proposal is even more costly.D.The estimated cost for the bill is just $ 5 billion.(5).How does the author feel about the President“s request for the extension and its coverage?（分数：3.00）A.Short of vision.B.Late and incom
25、plete.C.Lacking in consistency.D.Exhaustive but ineffective.五、Text 3(总题数：1，分数：15.00)Human intelligence and the IQ scales used to measure it once again are becoming the focus of fiery debate. As argument rages over declining test scores in the nation“s schools, an old but explosive issue is reappeari
26、ng; What is intelligenceand is it determined largely by genetics? The controversy erupted more than a decade ago when some U. S. scholars saw a racial pattern in the differing scores of students taking intelligence and college-entrance tests. Now, the racial issue is being joined by others. Teachers
27、, psychologists, scientists and lawyers argue over the question of whether IQintelligence quotienttests actually measure mental ability, or if findings are skewed by such factors as family background, poverty and emotional disorders. Moreover, some authorities assert that the rise in the number of c
28、ollege-educated Americans and their tendency to marry among themselves are creating a class of supersmart children of brainy parentsand, on the other side of the scale, a lumpenproletariat of children reflecting the supposedly inferior brainpower of their parents. Critics such as Harvard University
29、biologist Richard C. Lewontin disagree. If mental ability were largely determined by inheritance, he says, efforts to enhance intelligence through the betterment of both home and child-rearing environments could only be marginally effective. He comments: “Genetic determinism could be used to justify
30、 existing social injustice as predetermined and inevitable and would render efforts made toward equalitarian goals as useless.“ Supporting Lewontin in this is J. McVicker Hunt, a professor at the University of Illinois, who maintains that IQ levels can be raised significantly by exposing children at
31、 an early age to stimulating environments. Hunt“s studies show that early help in such areas as education and nutrition can raise a child“s IQ by an average of 30 to 35 points. At stake in the uproar over IQ is the national commitment to improve the capabilities of the poor by investing billions of
32、dollars annually in educational, medical and job programs.（分数：15.00）(1).The controversy over IQ tests is reappearing because of（分数：3.00）A.the newly found racial pattern underlying students“ performance.B.the worsening students“ performance in their studies.C.the long-standing division in the definit
33、ion of intelligence.D.the dubious IQ scales used to measure intelligence.(2).The word “skewed“ (Line 3, Paragraph 4) most probably means（分数：3.00）A.determined.B.directed.C.disclosed.D.distorted.(3).According to some authorities, there will be expected a class of supersmart children because of（分数：3.00
34、）A.the booming of higher learning.B.the revived zeal for marriage.C.the denial of the supposed inferiority of parents.D.the shift of one scale of measurement to another.(4).In the view of biologist Lewontin, intelligence（分数：3.00）A.was a matter of genetic traits.B.had little to do with environments.C
35、.could be improved with human efforts.D.was profoundly affected by inheritance.(5).From the text we can infer that（分数：3.00）A.the commitment to improve the capacities of the poor will hardly be made.B.the investment in educational, medical and job programs is non-profitable.C.the author disapproves t
36、he idea of genetic determination.D.there will soon be an uproar over IQ tests.六、Text 4(总题数：1，分数：15.00)Queuse are long. Life is short. So why waste time waiting when you can pay someone to do it for you? In Washington D. C.a city that struggles with more than its share of bureaucratic practicesa smal
37、l industry is emerging that will queue for you to get everything from a driver“s license to a seat in a congressional hearing. Michael Dorsey, one of the pioneering “service expediters“, began going to traffic courts for other people back in 1988. Today his fees start at $ 20 and can go into the tho
38、usands to plead individual cases at the Bureau of Traffic Adjudication (his former employer). Mr. Dorsey knows what a properly written parking ticket looks like, and often gets fines invalidated on its failures in formality. His clients include congressmen and diplomats, as well as firms for which t
39、ickets are an occupational hazard, such as taxi operators and television broadcasters. Service expediters are not universally loved. Non-tax income, like fines and fees, makes up about 7% of local-government revenue in Washington. Mr. Dorsey alone relieves that fund of $150,000 a year. Meanwhile, ci
40、tizen advocacy groups keep complaining about expediters such as the Congressional Services Company and CVK Group that specialise in saving places for congressional hearings. Committees hearing hot topics such as energy regulation often do not have enough seats. Why should a well-heeled lobbyist who
41、has paid $ 30 an hour to a professional place-holder grab the place? Critics say this perpetuates a two-layered system: the rich get good government service, but the poor still have to wait. This seems a little harsh. Service expeditors can hardly be blamed for creating the unfair system they profit
42、 from. Anyway, it“s not only rich corporate types who benefit from their services. Poor foreigners with little English hire expediters to navigate the ticket-fighting process; so do elderly and disabled people who want to save time on errands that require long hours standing in line. And, who knows,
43、 the service expediters might even shame the bureaucrats into pulling their socks up. Back in 1999, Washington“s mayor, Tony Williams, promised to liberate citizens from the tyranny of the government queue. Things have gotten a bit better, but the 20-minute task of renewing a driver“s license can st
44、ill take days. Hiring an expert to confront the bureaucratic beast on your behalf takes care of that.（分数：15.00）(1).What is the new business which emerged in Washington D. C.?（分数：3.00）A.Helping to establish small industries.B.Making false tickets and driver“s licenses.C.Assisting in organising congre
45、ssional hearings.D.Offering to go through official procedures for clients.(2).Which of the following is true according to the text?（分数：3.00）A.The fines for offenders range from $ 20 to $1000 or more.B.Television broadcasters are liable to receive parking tickets.C.Fines are sometimes cancelled when
46、tickets are well written.D.Michael Dorsey“s working experience helped with his new business.(3).This new business is not liked by all partly because（分数：3.00）A.it shifts the tax load from the poor to the rich.B.it gets profit by undermining the two-layered system.C.it harms the interests of local gov
47、ernments.D.it violates the equal opportunities principle.(4).It can be inferred from the text that service expediters could possibly（分数：3.00）A.sort out troubles for elderly and disabled people.B.help collect fines for local governments.C.sting the government into improving services.D.help poor forei
48、gners navigate home.(5).The best title for the text probably is（分数：3.00）A.The Taming of the Queue.B.Controversy over New Businesses.C.You Wait, I Walt, We All Walt.D.The Bureaucratic Beast.七、Part B(总题数：1，分数：15.00)A continuing phenomenon in business education is the emphasis on ethics. The American A
49、ssembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accreditation standards emphasize the need for an ethical awareness along with an understanding of “influence of political, social, legal and regulatory, environmental, and technological issues.“ 1 One of the difficult ethical challenges it wants addressed concerns “inclusiveness,“ which we have interpreted to mean a “large umbrella“ approach, in, for example, employee concerns. To this end, matters such as sexual preference are dealt with in a case involving a supervisor. 2 Possibly the greatest ethical idea that could build
