专业英语四级-243及答案解析.doc
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1、专业英语四级-243及答案解析 (总分:99.90,做题时间:90分钟)一、READING COMPREHENSIO(总题数:2,分数:100.00)SECTION A MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS PASSAGE ONE There are many theories about the beginning of drama in ancient Greece. The one most widely accepted today is based on the assumption that drama evolved from ritual. The argumen
2、t for this view goes as follows. In the beginning, human beings viewed the natural forces of the world, even the seasonal changes, as unpredictable, and they sought through various means to control these unknown and feared powers. Those measures which appeared to bring the desired results were then
3、retained and repeated until they hardened into fixed rituals. Eventually stories arose which explained or veiled the mysteries of the rites. As time passed some rituals were abandoned, but the stories, later called myths, persisted and provided material for art and drama. Those who believe that dram
4、a evolved out of ritual also argue that those rites contained the seed of theater because music, dance, masks, and costumes were almost always used. Furthermore, a suitable site had to be provided for performances and when the entire community did not participate, a clear division was usually made b
5、etween the acting area and the auditorium. In addition, there were performers, and, since considerable importance was attached to avoiding mistakes in the enactment of rites, religious leaders usually assumed that task. Wearing masks and costumes, they often impersonated other people, animals, or su
6、pernatural beings, and mimed the desired effectsuccess in hunt or battle, the coming rain, the revival of the Sunas an actor might. Eventually such dramatic representations were separated from religious activities. Another theory traces the theaters origin from the human interest in storytelling. Ac
7、cording to this view, tales (about the hunt, war, or other feats) are gradually elaborated, at first through the use of impersonation, action, and dialogue by a narrator and then through the assumption of each of the roles by a different person. A closely related theory traces theater to those dance
8、s that are primarily rhythmical and gymnastic or that are imitations of animal movements and sounds. PASSAGE TWO Every year at this time, the Census Bureau announces the official U.S. poverty rate. And every year, the same fruitless debate takes place. Some will point to the successes and urge we st
9、ay the course. Some will point to the failures and call for more spending on antipoverty programs. Unfortunately, the analyses on both sides are based on faulty databecause our measures are critically flawed and overstate the number of Americans in poverty. The official poverty measure counts only m
10、onetary income. It considers antipoverty programs such as food stamps, housing assistance, the Earned Income Tax Credit, Medicaid and school lunches, among others, in-kind benefitsand hence not income. So, despite everything these programs do to relieve poverty, they arent counted as income when Was
11、hington measures the poverty rate. Its time to scrap this outdated definition of income. After all, government has changed how it combats poverty: direct-cash subsidies are out; benefits that can be used only for essentials, such as food, shelter and health care, are in. But because of how we measur
12、e poverty, progress is unreported, even if families do better. Since 1995, the National Research Council has recommended the Census Bureau include programs that distribute in-kind benefits, such as food stamps, which are the equivalent of cash, and include the effect of taxes and tax refunds such as
13、 the EITC (Earned Income Tax Credit). And why not? Noncash assets such as houses and cars are routinely used to assess economic worth. Taxpayers consider an IRS (Internal Revenue Service) tax refund as monetary income and income taxes as lost income. Yet the Census Bureau ignores the effect of taxes
14、 and doesnt count the EITC refund as income. Studies that take into account all income and transfer payments to low-income people have found a decline in the number of those in poverty. A 2006 study in the Journal of Economic Perspectives reported that if in-kind benefits are included in income, pov
15、erty rates in 2003 would have declined from 12.7 percent to 9.9 percent. By counting all income and taxes, the poverty rate falls by more than 20 percent. The current systems bad accounting can lead to bad public policy. The misleading figures make it difficult to accurately judge antipoverty progra
16、ms. Its important to have an accurate measure of progress in our war on poverty. Americans want to help those in need, but they want to do so intelligently. Thats difficult when the data are inaccurate. The current measure assumes direct-cash transfers are the only effective way to reduce the povert
17、y rate. Lawmakers rightly avoid direct-cash transfers because of the lack of accountability. In-kind benefits, such as food stamps, ensure the money is spent on needs, such as milk and food, and not vices, such as alcohol and tobacco. The Census Bureau needs to update its measurement of income and p
18、overty. At a minimum, it should emphasize the poverty rate after counting all government transfer programs and taxes. This will allow Americans to see how effective low-income aid is in reducing the poverty rate and what types of relief work best. PASSAGE THREE The House of Lords has a charm few peo
19、ple seem able to resist. The more cut-off it becomes from everyday life, the greater its attraction for weary businessmen and politicians. On the road outside the word Peers is painted across the car-park in large white letters. Inside a tall ex-Guardsman directs you through the vaulted entrance hal
20、l, past a long row of elaborate gothic coat-hooks, each one labeled, beginning with the royal dukesone of the many features of the building reminiscent of a school. Upstairs you come to a series of high, dark rooms, with gothic woodwork and carved ceilings. A life-size white marble statue of the you
21、ng Queen Victoria watches elderly peers sitting at tables writing letters on gothic writing paper. Doors lead off to long dining-rooms, one for guests, another for peers only and to a large bar looking over the river, which serves drinks all day and sells special House of Lords cigarettes. Other clo
22、sed doors are simply marked Peersan embarrassing ambiguity for lady peers, for peers can mean the Lords equivalent of gentlemen. There is an atmosphere of contented old age. The rooms are full of half-remembered faces of famous men or politicians one hadhow shall one put itforgotten still around. Th
23、ere is banter between left-wing peers and right-wing peers and a great deal of talk about operations and ailments and nursing homes. Leading off the man ante-room is the chamber itselfthe fine flower of the Victorian romantic style. It is small, only eighty feet long. Stained glass windows shed a da
24、rk red light, and rows of statues look down from the walls. On either side are long red-leather sofas with dark wooden choir stalls at the back. Between the two sides is the Woolsack, the traditional seat of the Lord Chancellor, stuffed with bits of wool from all over the Commonwealth. At the far en
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- 专业 英语四 243 答案 解析
