大学英语四级-阅读7及答案解析.doc

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1、大学英语四级-阅读 7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)三、Passage(总题数：5，分数：100.00)Retrofitting houses to use less energy should be a no-brainer for homeowners. Over time, money spent on ways to reduce heat loss from draughty houses should produce a handsome return in lower fuel bi

2、lls. In practice, many are cautious. Some improvements, such as solid-wall insulation and solar panels, can take over 25 years to cover their initial cost. Few owners are willing to wait that long: by then many are likely to have sold up and moved on. Several governments have started finance schemes

3、 designed to address this problem. Since 2008 PACE programs have offered American homeowners loans to finance improvements, repaid through higher local taxes on the property, whoever it belongs to. In Britain, the Green Deal offers loans over a 25-year period, with repayments added to energy bills.

4、Countries including France and Canada have similar initiatives. In theory, these schemes should boost investment in common energy-saving measures, such as extra insulation and new boilers, as the first owner does not have to pay all the costs in advance. But enrolment rates have disappointed, accord

5、ing to Scan Kidney at the Climate Bonds Initiative, a think-tank. In Britain, just 1% of those assessed for the Green Deal have signed up. In Berkeley, California, home of the first PACE scheme, the take-up rate is similarly low. Homeowners are unimpressed chiefly because the interest rates on the l

6、oans look high. The Green Deal charges 7%; some PACE schemes a hefty 8%. As these rates are fixed for decades, they will inevitably look unattractive when short-term interest rates are low. Many people also doubt they will save enough on their energy bills to cover the repayments. For instance, clai

7、ms in Britain that installing loft insulation can cut energy bills by 20% have been denied by a government study that found it reduced gas consumption by only 1.7% on average. Others fear that green loans may reduce the value of their home. In America, firms that guarantee mortgages are hostile to P

8、ACE loans. Green loans have not been a failure everywhere. Around 250,000 households in Germany sign up for them each year. They do so because they need pay only 1% interest on them each year, thanks to an annual public pension of 1.5 billion. Whether that is an efficient use of taxpayers“ money is

9、another question.（分数：20.00）(1).Why are many homeowners cautious about the improvements of their houses?（分数：4.00）A.Because the government refuses to provide any economic assistance.B.Because it takes a long time to generate the return.C.Because it costs much to buy the improvements such as solid-wall

10、 insulation and solar panels.D.Because many of them tend to sell up the houses.(2).How can Britain householders repay their loans for the improvements?（分数：4.00）A.They could pay the additional expense on energy bills for the loans.B.They pay for the low loans through PACE programs.C.They repay it thr

11、ough the extra taxes on the houses.D.They can pay back the money through the energy bills in 25 years.(3).The energy-saving measures meet with _ in the process of implementation.（分数：4.00）A.disappointmentB.advancementC.assessmentD.frustration(4).Why do homeowners have no interest in government“s ener

12、gy-saving plans?（分数：4.00）A.Because the loans are too high to accept.B.Because The Green Deal and some PACE schemes charge too much.C.Because the rates are unattractive in short-term.D.Because the rates are unchangeable for decades.(5).What does the government study show?（分数：4.00）A.The installation c

13、an decrease the energy payment by 20%.B.The improvements can help cut down the energy consumption by 1.7%.C.The costs on house improvements are cost-efficient.D.The fees spent on the installation are much higher than the cost on energy consumption.It is hard to predict the future: witness forecaster

14、s“ failure to foresee the financial crisis. Indeed, even assuring the current state of the economy is tough. The first official estimates of quarterly GDP are generally published between four and six weeks after each quarter has finished. Interpreting them can be challengeable since they are frequen

15、tly revised. Such delays and uncertainties have led economy-watchers to search for other measurements. Simply asking businessmen what they think is an old tradition, but such surveys are flourishing as never before. Among the most influential are purchasing-manager indexes. Every month managers in b

16、oth manufacturing and private services are asked whether their firms“ output, employment, orders and the like have expanded or contracted. An index based on the net balance of their answers shows expansion above the level of 50 and contraction below it. These findings can in turn be used to estimate

17、 the current rate of growth, given the previous relationship between the indexes and GDP. For example, Markit, a research group, reported this week that their composite index for manufacturing and services in the Euro zone stood at 52.8 in June. The survey suggests the Euro area should grow by aroun

18、d 0.4% in the second quarter, twice as fast as in the first, says Chris Williamson, an economist at Markit. Markit“s estimate of second quarter Euro-zone GDP growth appeared six weeks before the first official estimate. Such surveys have other benefits: the method is transparent and easy to grasp. A

19、nd the findings are not revised once the final reports emerge a week after the “flash“ estimates. Some data providers go further, seeking to exploit all relevant statistics. This requires a sophisticated model to extract a common signal for GDP from the complicated data that become available. This i

20、s the approach adopted by Now-Casting Economics, a firm whose founders include two economists, Lucrezia Reichlin and Domenico Giannone. In the case of the Euro zone, their model obtains 50 monthly variables and uses their past relationships with GDP to calculate an estimate for the current quarter.

21、In principle, the model-based approach might appear superior because it exploits more information. On the other hand, it is more of a black box. Since surveys are themselves an important source of information for the now-casts, this suggests that the two methods will co-exist.（分数：20.00）(1).Why is it

22、 difficult to assure the current state of the economy?（分数：4.00）A.Financial crisis often brings new obstacles to know the truth of the economy state.B.The statistics the economy shows are often postponed and changeable.C.The official estimates are often published four and six weeks later.D.Economy-wa

23、tchers are often compelled to employ different measurements.(2).What can the economic-watchers get by asking the businessmen what they think?（分数：4.00）A.They could estimate the economic state on the index of pure margin.B.They could get whether the firm“s transaction expand or contract.C.They could a

24、ttain current economic state through traditional surveying ways.D.They could forecast the financial crisis on the basis of the net balance.(3).What does the author say Markit“s estimate of second quarter Euro-zone GDP growth?（分数：4.00）A.The economy of Euro area would grow in a steady-state in the fut

25、ure.B.Markit“s estimate is early and accurate than the official report.C.The method is reliable and easy to understand.D.The estimated findings don“t need to be revised any more.(4).Why the model-based approach is referred to as a black box?（分数：4.00）A.It includes a great deal of important informatio

26、n.B.It exploits more information than the traditional surveying ways.C.It records a large number of short-term predictions about the economy development.D.It contains many records about the rate of economic growth.(5).What is the passage mainly about?（分数：4.00）A.How to take the economic pulse.B.How t

27、o forecast the present economic development speed.C.How to grasp the economy prediction method.D.How to estimate the current state of the economy.Lawyers for Microsoft and the American government are due to face each other in court in New York on July 31 st . The two sides have been arguing for mont

28、hs about a warrant, served on Microsoft in December, which requires the company to hand over e-mails stored at data centers in Ireland. Microsoft has two main objections to the warrant, which law-enforcement officer sought during an investigation into drug-dealing. First, it says, an American warran

29、t cannot be used to seize evidence held abroad. Second, it claims that the warrant breaks the Constitution“s Fourth Amendment, which forbids “unreasonable searches and seizures“ by not specifying where the evidence is to be taken from. The warrant refers only to “information.stored at premises owned

30、, maintained, controlled or operated by Microsoft“. The company says the government should get the information by approaching the Irish authorities, using a bilateral treaty. The government calls this ridiculous. If Microsoft“s argument stands, it believes, criminals could put electronic evidence be

31、yond the long arm of the law simply by claiming to live outside the United States. The government also says using treaties to seek information can be slow. What is more, it argues, Microsoft is defining a warrant too narrowly. This matters because the authorities need a warrant, which requires no pr

32、ior notice of seizure, to get hold of unopened e-mails less than six months old. For older or opened e-mails, they need only a subpoena, a notice demanding that certain items be presented in court. The original judge agreed, saying that a warrant under the relevant lawthe Stored Communications Act (

33、SCA)was a “hybrid“ of a search warrant and a subpoena. In that case, Microsoft contradicts, why did Congress bother to distinguish between a warrant and a subpoena when it drew up the law? Commerce as well as principle explains Microsoft“s nitpickingand the supporting briefs that other American tech

34、 firms have filed in the case. If foreigners fear their data are not safe from Uncle Sam“s prying eyes in an American-owned data center, they may turn to domestic providers, at American companies“ expense. Such worries have grown since Edward Snowden“s leaks of American spies“ activities last year.

35、The tech firms may also hope a long court battle will prompt Congress to update the SCA.（分数：20.00）(1).What have Microsoft and the American Government been arguing for months?（分数：4.00）A.Microsoft was required to surrender some e-mails at abroad data centers.B.The two sides have been fighting for a wa

36、rrant.C.They have been in dispute with each other about the charge from the court in New York.D.The government was accused of issuing a wrong warrant.(2).Why is Microsoft resisting an official demand to hand over data?（分数：4.00）A.Because Microsoft thinks it is the Irish authorities that should should

37、er the responsibilities.B.Because the needed evidence is in violation of laws, so it“s difficult to get access to it.C.Because Microsoft believes it is illegal to obtain the evidence without making it clearly what the evidence is used for.D.Because the warrant only refers to the information stored,

38、maintained, controlled or operated by Microsoft.(3).Why is Microsoft“s dispute ridiculous according to the passage?（分数：4.00）A.Microsoft is assumed it is more than time-consuming to search for information abroad.B.Microsoft is believed that the criminals couldn“t be brought to justice if they live ab

39、road with the evidence.C.Microsoft is considered that using treaties is a complex process to get the evidence.D.Microsoft helps the users put the electronic evidence outside the United States to escape from punishment.(4).How can a warrant and a subpoena be distinguished?（分数：4.00）A.The warrant guara

40、ntees the obtaining of the unopened e-mails less than six months old.B.With a subpoena, government could get unopened e-mails older than six months.C.SCA is a blend of a search warrant and a subpoena.D.Warrant is a notice demanding that certain items be presented in court.(5).How do other American t

41、ech firms respond to Microsoft“s case?（分数：4.00）A.They think Microsoft is nitpicking.B.They sustain the Microsoft.C.They keep a neutral attitude towards the case.D.They would like to wait and see.For months the world has sat largely idle as an Ebola epidemic has marched steadily from the remote jungl

42、es of Guinea to the slums of Liberia. On September 16th that changed. Barack Obama announced the largest humanitarian deployment (部署) by America“s armed forces to fight an infectious disease. Saying that the epidemic “is not just a threat to regional securityit“s a potential threat to global securit

43、y if these countries break down“, the president began the process of sending some 3,000 American troops to set up treatment centers. Ebola is a disease that is usually absent from human populations, has been quickly stamped out in the past and in its worst recorded outbreak has thus far caused 3,000

44、 known deaths. Moreover it is unlikely to spread widely in rich countries with good health-care systems. Set against killers such as HIV, the virus that kills some 1.6m people a year, or tuberculosis (TB), which takes another 1.3m lives, an expensive fight against Ebola may seem a misallocation of r

45、esources. Yet Ebola is now growing exponentially, with the number of new cases roughly doubling every three weeks or so. In Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, it is thought to be doubling every two weeks. Previous outbreaks were usually in rural villages where it was easier to contain. At this rate o

46、f progress, small numbers quickly become big ones, and there is a real risk of the disease spreading to cities such as Lagos, which is home to more than 10m people. The longer Ebola is allowed to reproduce in humans, the greater the risk that it will become more infectious. America“s response is the

47、 first by a government on a large scale. Until now the burden has been carried by charities such as Mdecins Sans Frontires (MSF), which has 2,000 staff in the affected countries. Yet even America“s large commitment may not be enough to get ahead of this epidemic in Liberia, the country most affected

48、. By the time the troops actually get there, the situation in Liberia could be far worse. Elsewhere, the response falls far short of what is needed. Sierra Leone, the second-worst-affected country, has received far less help from governments. Two things are urgently needed. The first is the rapid pr

49、ovision of basic protective gear. The second need is for trained staff to run the treatment centers and work in them.（分数：20.00）(1).How does the world react to the Ebola?（分数：4.00）A.The world has begun with great efforts to prevent Ebola from spreading further.B.Ebola has been transferred from Guinea to Liberia.C.The world is still acting too slowly to stop Ebola.D.The world has offered humanitarian assistance to prevent the epidemic from spreading quickly.(2).Why does American president reach out to infectious countries?（分数：4.00）A.Because Obama has already announced the largest human