大学英语四级阅读-13及答案解析.doc

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1、大学英语四级阅读-13 及答案解析(总分：100.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、Part Reading Compr(总题数：0，分数：0.00)二、Section A(总题数：2，分数：20.00)Searching for love is no longer just a favorite subject for songs. It has also become a huge industry.Experts say that the industry has grown because traditional social ties in the United States have

2、 (1) . Many young people leave behind a close community of friends and family to find work in bigger cities. People work longer hours, so they have less time to meet new people. So they depend (2) on technology.This helps explain the (3) of online dating. Some estimates say 120,000 marriages a year

3、result from (4) made on the Internet.The dating industry has also been expanding in new and interesting ways. Many companies around the country offer (5) services for finding the perfect mate. These companies are answering a large demand by single people. They are willing to (6) their time and money

4、 to find love with (7) planned methods, instead of leaving love to chance.For example, in Virginia, the company True Life Partners provides a (8) but detailed dating service. The companys owner, Stephanie Rockey, says her customers are busy professionals who do not have time to search for their life

5、 partner. Customers hire Miz Rockeys team of (9) experts to help them find people they will like based on detailed information they provide about themselves.The company says it is a team of professional personal (10) who help couples meet. But this level of attention comes at a high price. Men pay t

6、housands of dollars for the service. But women get to take part at no cost.A. carefully B. inquire C. personalized D. investE. notified F. recruiters G. matches H. increasinglyI. desperate J. costly K. restraint L. popularityM. weakened N. shortly O. trained（分数：10.00）填空项 1:_填空项 1:_填空项 1:_填空项 1:_填空项

7、1:_填空项 1:_填空项 1:_填空项 1:_填空项 1:_填空项 1:_Academy Award nominees who go home empty-handed may not have a shiny Oscar to show off, but they may turn out to be the bigger winners in the game of life.According to a study published in British Medical Journal on December 21, Oscar-winning screenwriters are m

8、ore successful, more productive, and more (1) than losing nominees; however, they die sooner by about four years.Because success is usually linked to better health, “this is the first (2) ever that success is not associated with improved (3) ,“ says Donald Redelmeier, lead author of the study.Resear

9、chers (4) down information about every person who was ever nominated for an Oscar since the awards were first handed out 73 years ago.To explain the (5) findings, he offers two theories. The first is the “work-to-death hypothesis.“According to Redelmeier, screenwriters are more (6) to lead unhealthy

10、 lifestyles, meaning they smoke more, exercise less, and work a lot of late-night hours, which translates into not enough sleep.Screenwriters dont have a boss to report to, which brings into (7) Redelmeiers second explanation, the “party-hearty hypothesis.“When you become a successful screenwriter,

11、you gain status without daily accountability, and as a (8) your success may lead you to more alcohol, more parties, and more obesity,“ he says.Redelmeier hopes his study will (9) how important it is to lead a healthy lifestyle.“The bottom line,“ he says, “is that greater success may (10) lead to wor

12、se health if people fail to look after themselves.“A. longevity B. flourish C. apt D. sometimesE. tracked F. respected G. account H. miracleI. occupation J. puzzling K. stress L. consequenceM. internal N. fairly O. restrained（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

13、项 1:_三、Section B(总题数：2，分数：40.00)Questions on the Origins of Christmas1. Why do we celebrate on December 25th?A. The Bible makes no mention of Jesus being born on December 25th and, as more than one historian has pointed out, why would shepherds be tending to their flock in the middle of winter? So w

14、hy is that the day we celebrate? Well, either Christian holidays miraculously fall on the same days as pagan ones or the Christians have been crafty in converting pagan populations to religion by placing important Christian holidays on the same days as pagan ones. And people had been celebrating on

15、December 25th (and the surrounding weeks) for centuries by the time Jesus showed up.B. The Winter Solstice, falling on or around December 21st, was and is celebrated around the world as the beginning of the end of winter. It is the shortest day and longest night and its passing signifies that spring

16、 is on the way. In Scandinavian countries, they celebrated the solstice with a holiday called Yule last from the 21st until January and burned a Yule log the whole time. In Rome, Saturnaliaa celebration of Saturn, the God of agriculturelasted the entire end of the year and was marked by mass intoxic

17、ation. In the middle of this, the Romans celebrated the birth of another God, Mithra (a child God), whose holiday celebrated the children of Rome.C. When the Christianity became the official religion of Rome, there was no Christmas. It was not until the 4th century that Pope Julius I declared the bi

18、rth of Jesus to be a holiday and picked December 25th as the celebration day. By the middle ages, most people celebrated the holiday we know as Christmas.2. How did Americans come to love the holiday?D. The American Christmas is, like most American holidays, a mishmash of Old World customs mixed wit

19、h American inventions. While Christmas was celebrated in America from the time of the Jamestown settlement, our modem idea of the holiday didnt take root until the 19th century. The History Channel credits Washington Irving with getting the ball rolling. In 1819 he published The Sketchbook of Geoffr

20、ey Crayon, gent., an account of a Christmas celebration in which a rich family invites poor folk into their house to celebrate the holiday.E. The problem was that many of the activities described in Irvings work, such as Crowning a Lord of Misrule, were entirely fictional. Nonetheless, Irving began

21、to steer Christmas celebrations away from drunken debauchery (放荡) and towards wholesome, charitable fun. Throughout the rest of the 19th century, Christmas gained popularity and Americans adopted old customs or invented new ones, such as Christmas trees, greeting cards, giving gifts and eating a who

22、le roasted pig.3. Who popularized Christmas trees?F. Since time immortal, humans have been fascinated with the color green and plants that stay green through winter. Many ancient societiesfrom Romans to Vikingswould decorate their Homes and temples with evergreens in the winter as a symbol of the re

23、turning growing season. But the Christmas tree didnt get going until some intrepid (无畏的) German dragged home and decorated a tree in the 16th century. Legend has it that Martin Luther himself added lighted candles to his familys tree, starting the trend (and leading to countless fires through the ye

24、ars). In America, the Christmas tree didnt catch on until 1846 when the British royals, Queen Victoria and the German Prince Albert, were shown with a Christmas tree in a newspaper. Fashionable people in America mimicked the Royals and the tree thing spread outside of German enclaves (被围领土) in Ameri

25、ca. Ornaments, courtesy of Germany, and electric lights, courtesy of Thomas Edisons assistants, were added over the years and we havent changed much since.4. Whats the deal with Santa Claus?G. The jolly, red-suited man who sneaks into your home every year to leave you gifts hasnt always been so joll

26、y. The real Saint Nick was a Turkish monk who lived in the 3rd century. According to legend, he was a rich man thanks to an inheritance from his parents, but he gave it all away in the form of gifts to the less-fortunate. He eventually became the most popular saint in Europe and, through his alter e

27、go, Santa Claus, remains so to this day. But how did a long-dead Turkish monk become a big, fat, reindeer-riding pole dweller? The Dutch got the ball rolling by celebrating the saintcalled Sinter Klaasin New York in the late-18th century. Our old friend, Washington Irving, included the legend of Sai

28、nt Nick in his seminal History of New York as well, but at the turn of the 18th century, Saint Nick was still a rather obscure figure in America.H. On December 23, 1823, though, a man named Clement Clarke Moore published a poem he had written for his daughters called “An Account of a Visit from St.

29、Nicholas,“ better known now as “Twas the Night Before Christmas.“ Nobody knows how much of the poem Moore invented, but we do know that it was the spark that eventually lit the Santa fire. Many of the things we associate with Santaa sleigh, reindeer, Christmas Eve visitscame from Moores poem. From 1

30、863 to 1886, Thomas Nasts illustrations of Santa Claus appeared in Harpers Weeklyincluding a scene with Santa giving gifts to Union soldiers. Not much has changed since the second half of the 19th century: Santa still gets pulled in a sleigh by flying reindeer, he still wears the big red suit and he

31、 still sneaks down chimneys to drop off presents.5. Who invented Rudolph?I. Santa did get one more friend in 1939. Robert May, a copywriter for the Montgomery Ward department store chain, wrote a little story about a 9th reindeer with a disturbing red nose for a booklet to give customers during the

32、holiday season. Ten years later, Mays brother would put the story to music, writing the lyrics and melody.（分数：20.00）(1).Drunken debauchery was regarded as old Christmas practice in America in the 19th century.（分数：2.00）填空项 1:_(2).Rudolph appeared in Robert Mays story as a reindeer with a disturbing r

33、ed nose.（分数：2.00）填空项 1:_(3).The celebration of Jesus birth on Dec. 25th has much to do with Pope Julius I.（分数：2.00）填空项 1:_(4).What Santa Clans does nowadays can be traced back to one of Clement Clarke Moores poems.（分数：2.00）填空项 1:_(5).Santa Claus was based on a monk named Saint Nick, who was from Tur

34、key.（分数：2.00）填空项 1:_(6).Thanks to American writer Washington Irving, Christmas began to take root in America in the 19th century.（分数：2.00）填空项 1:_(7).Evergreens were used to decorate home as a symbol of the returning growing season in many ancient societies.（分数：2.00）填空项 1:_(8).People begin to celebra

35、te Dec. 25th before the birth of Jesus.（分数：2.00）填空项 1:_(9).The Winter Solstice that comes around Dec. 21st means spring is coming.（分数：2.00）填空项 1:_(10).The trend of Christmas tree tradition in German was said to be related to Martin Luther.（分数：2.00）填空项 1:_Hints and Tips to Save MoneyA. Spend less. Th

36、is is not oversimplifying the best way to save money! It is essential if you are serious about being a long-term money saver. Review what you spend and look at ways you can save money. Consider making telephone calls for instance only at off-peak times. Do you really need to have newspapers and maga

37、zines delivered? Can you do without those coffees you buy at break time every daywould a flask of coffee taken to work save you money? What about using the public lending library instead of buying books or music CDs? Once you start looking for ways to spend less you will quickly become an expert and

38、 really save money.B. Establish a personal budget. This is essential for families and individuals. You will not be able to save money unless you know how much money you have coming in, and how much money you have going out. Once you have prepared a budget of incoming money and outgoing money, you wi

39、ll be able to identify areas where you can save. It is MUCH more difficult to save money over a long period of time (the rest of your life?) without a budget.C. Bulk is good. Think about shopping and buying in bulk. You can also save money by cooking in bulk. This is a real way you can save money wi

40、th little preparation and almost no extra outlay. Always purchase in bulk when you can. Prepared foods and convenience foods will always be much more expensive than all the ingredients needed to make the food. Preparing food in bulk and in advance also gives you the opportunity to plan ahead and be

41、more accurate in your budget. Save money by buying in bulk whenever you can. One thing to be aware of when buying in bulk is to be sure that any product you buy will get used before it goes badyou wont save money ff you have to throw stuff away. Buying in bulk is not only a good way to save money it

42、 is also a good strategy for coping with and surviving emergencies.D. Make sure a sale is a sale. By this I mean do your price research before you commit to making an expensive purchase in a retailers money-off sale. You have to be sure the sale really is a sale and not a creative marketing strategy

43、 of the store to encourage you to spend your money without thinking. Once you have researched the true price of a product (any product) you are in a good position to take advantage of a sale, special offer or discount and really save money. “Buy one get one free“, “50% off“, and “Huge Discount“ will

44、 only help you save money if the actual price you pay is lower than you would pay somewhere else for exactly the same product.E. Buy used. Sure, we all like to buy new. But there are huge money savings to be made in buying used. Typically cars lose one-third of their value in the first 24 months fro

45、m new. Why not buy a car 24 months old? Other items such as clothes can be worth even less just the day after new. Look for ways to buy “as good as new“ items and save money. Typical products you might consider buying used to save money include: cars, clothes, electrical goods, garden items.tools an

46、d sheds, household items. pots and pansthe list of used goods where you can save money is endless.F. Dont carry excessive debt. Some debt in our lives may be essential. We may need a mortgage (抵押) to purchase a home, we may need to use our credit card to make purchases until payday, but your aim to

47、save money should be to have as little debt as possible. Credit card debt is typically the most expensive debt we may carry. You will be able to save money every month if you make it an absolute rule to pay off your outstanding balance every month. If you can have the discipline to do this you will

48、save money by effectively having no debt, and thus no interest charge on your credit card(s).G. Save money fast. No, I mean really save some money. Each week or each month get into the habit of putting an amount, however small into your savings. You could start by saving a very small fixed amount each time and then move to putting in larger amounts o