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2011 年 12 月英语四级考试阅读真题
Part Ⅳ Reading Comprehension (Reading inDepth) (25 minutes)
SectionA
Directions: In thissection, thereis apassagewithtenblanks. Youarerequired toselect oneword
foreach blankfromalistof choices given in aword bankfollowing thepassage. Read the
passagethroughcarefully beforemaking your choices. Each choice in thebankis
identified byletter. Please mark thecorresponding letter for each itemonAnswer Sheet
2with asinglelinethrough thecentre. You maynot useany of thewordsin thebank
morethanonce.
Questions47to 56are basedon thefollowing passage.
With theworld's population estimated to grow from six to ninebillion by2050,researchers.
businesses andgovernments are already dealing with theimpact this increase will have on
everything from food and water to infrastructure (基础设施)and jobs. Underling all this47will be
thedemand for energy, which is expected todoubleover thenext40years.
Finding the resources to meet this demand in a __48__sustainableway is thecornerstone (基
石)ofournation's energy security, and will beoneof themajor__49__ofthe 21st century.
Alternativeforms ofenergy- bio-fuels, wind andsolar, to name afew are __50__being funded and
developed, and willplay agrowing __51__in theworld's energy supply. But experts saythateven
when__52__,alternative energy sources willlikely meet onlyabout 30%oftheworld's energy
needs by2050.
For example, even with__53__investments, suchas the$93million forwind energy
development __54__in theAmerican Recovery and Reinvestment Act, important alternative energy
sources such as wind and bio-fuels __55__onlyabout 1%ofthe market today.
Energy and sustainability experts say theanswer to ourfuture energy needs willlikely come
from alot of__56__both traditional and alternative.
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
A)stable I)exactly
B)solutions J)consist
C)significant K)comprise
D)role L)competitions
E)progress M)combined
F)marvelous N)challenges
G)included O)certainly
H)growth
SectionB
Directions: There are2passages in thissection. Each passage isfollowedby somequestions or
unfinished statements. For each of themthere arefour chokes marked A), B), C)andD).
Youshould decideonthe best choice andmarkthe corresponding letter onAnswer Sheet
2with asinglelinethrough thecentre.
Passage One
淘宝店铺：https://shop499712503.taobao.com/ 店主旺旺：慧园文化Questions57to 61are basedon thefollowing passage.
Boys' schools are theperfect place toteach young men toexpress theiremotions and involve
themin activities suchas art, dance and music.
Farfrom thetraditional image of aculture ofaggressivemasculinity(阳刚), theabsence of girls
gives boys thechance to develop without pressure to conform to astereotype. aUS studysays.
Boys at single-sex schools were said to bemore likelyto get involved in cultural and artistic
activitiesthat helped develop their emotional expressiveness, rather thanfeeling theyhad to
conform tothe"boy code" of hiding theiremotionsto be a"real man".
The findings of thestudy soagainst received wisdom that boys dobetterwhen taught alongside
girls.
Tony Little, headmaster of Eton,warned that boys were beingfaded bytheBritish education
system because ithad become toofocused ongirls. He criticized teachers for failing to recognize
thatboys are actually moreemotional than girls.
The research argued that boys often perform badly in mixed schools because they become
discouraged when their female peers dobetter earlierinspeaking andreading skills.
But in single-sex schools teachers can tailorlessons to boys' learning style, letting them move
around theclassroom and getting them to competeinteams to prevent boredom, wrotethestudy's
author, Abigail James, of theUniversity ofVirginia.
Teachers could encourage boys to enjoy reading and writing with "boy-focused" approaches
such as themes and characters that appeal to them. Becauseboys generally havemore acute vision
learn best through touch, and are physically more active, they needto begiven "hands-on" lessons
where theyare allowed towalk around. "Boys inmixed schools view classical musicas feminine
(女性的)and prefer themodem genre (类型)in which violenceand sexismare major themes,
"James wrote.
Single-sex education also made itless likely that boys would feel they had toconform to a
stereotypethat men shouldbe"masterful andin charge" in relationships. "In mixed schools boys
feel compelled toact likemen before they understand themselves well enough toknow what that
means, " thestudy reported.
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
57. Theauthorbelieves that asingle-sex school would __________.
A)force boys to hidetheir emotionsto be"real men"
B) help tocultivate masculineaggressiveness in boys
C)encourage boys to express theiremotions morefreely
D)naturally reinforceinboys thetraditional image ofaman
58. It is commonly believed that ina mixed school boys __________.
A)Perform relatively better C)behave moreresponsibly
B) grow upmorehealthily D)receivea bettereducation
59. Whatdoes Tony Little say about theBritish education system?
A)It fails more boys than girls academically.
B) It focuses more onmixed school education.
C)It fails to give boys theattention they need.
淘宝店铺：https://shop499712503.taobao.com/ 店主旺旺：慧园文化D)It places morepressure onboys than ongirls.
60. According to Abigail James, oneoftheadvantages ofsingle-sex schools is __________.
A)teaching can be tailored to suit thecharacteristics of boys
B) boys can focus ontheirlessons withoutbeing distracted
C)boys can choose tolearn whatever they are interested in
D)teaching can be designed to promoteboys' team spirit
61. Whichofthefollowing is characteristicofboys according to Abigail James' report?
A)They enjoy being incharge. C)They have sharper vision.
B) They conform tostereotypes. D)They are violentand sexist.
Passage Two
Questions62to 66are basedon thefollowing passage.
It's an annual argument. Do weor dowenot go onholiday? My partnersays nobecausethe
boilercould go, ortheroof fall off andwe have nosavings tosave us.Isay you onlyliveonce and
wework hard and what's thepoint ifyou can't go onholiday. The joy ofarecession means no
argument nextyear - wejust won't go.
Sincemoney is known to be oneofthethings mostlikely tobring arelationship toits knees, we
shouldbegrateful. For many families therecession means more than not booking aholiday A
YouGov poll of2,000peoplefound 22%said they were arguing morewith theirpartners because
ofconcerns about money. What's less clear is whether divorce and separation rates risein a
recession–financial pressures mean couples argue morebut makesplitting upless affordable. A
recent research shows arguments about money were especially damaging to couples. Disputes were
characterized byintenseverbal (言语上的) aggression, tended to berepeated and not resolved and
mademen, more thanwomen, extremely angry.
Kim Stephenson, an occupational psychologist, believes money is such a big deal because of
what itsymbolizes, which maybedifferent things to men and women. "People can say thesame
things about money but have different ideas ofwhat it's for." heexplains. "They'll say it's to save to
spend, forsecurity, for freedom, to show someoneyou lovethem." He says men are morelikely to
seemoney as away of buying status and ofshowing theirparents that they'veachieved something.
"The biggest problem isthat couples assumeeach other knowwhat's going onwith their
finances, butthey don't. There seems to bemoreof ataboo (禁忌)about talkingabout money than
about death. But you bothneed to knowwhat you're doing, who's paying what intothejoint account
and howmuch you keep separately. In a healthy relationship, you don't have to agree about money,
butyou have to talk about it."
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答：
62. Whatdoes theauthor say about vacationing?
A)Peopleenjoy it all themoreduring a recession.
B) Few peoplecan afford it withoutworking hard.
C)It makes all thehard work worthwhile.
D)It isthe chief cause offamily disputes.
淘宝店铺：https://shop499712503.taobao.com/ 店主旺旺：慧园文化63. Whatdoes theauthor mean bysaying "money isknown...to bring a relationship to its
knees"(Line 1,Para. 2)?
A)Moneyis considered to betheroot of all evils.
B) Somepeople sacrifice theirdignity formoney.
C)Few peoplecan resist thetemptation ofmoney.
D)Disputes overmoney may rain a relationship.
64. TheYouGov poll of2,000people indicates that in arecession __________.
A)conflicts between couples tend torise
B) itis moreexpensivefor couples to splitup
C)couples showmoreconcern for each other
D)divorce and separation rates increase
65. Whatdoes Kim Stephenson believe?
A)Moneyis often a symbol ofa person's status.
B) Moneymeans agreat deal to both and women.
C)Menand women spend money ondifferent things.
D)Menand women viewmoneyin different ways.
66. Theauthorsuggests at the end ofthepassage thatcouples should __________.
A)puttheir moneytogether instead ofkeeping it separately
B) makeefforts to reach agreement ontheir family budgets
C)discussmoney matters tomaintain a healthy relationship
D)avoid arguing about money matters to remain romantic
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