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2014年12月年大学英语四级考试真题（三）
2014 年 12 月大学英语四级考试阅读真题（第 3 套)
PartIII Reading Comprehension (40 minutes)
SectionA
Directions: In this section, thereis a passage with ten blanks. Youare required to selectoneword for each blank
from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before
makingyourchoices.Eachchoiceinthebankisidentifiedbyaletter.Pleasemarkthecorrespondingletterforeach
itemonAnswerSheet2withasinglelinethroughthecentre.Youmaynotuseanyofthewordsinthebankmore
thanonce.
Questions36to45arebasedonthefollowingpassage.
For decades, Americans have taken for granted the United States’ leadership position in the development of
newtechnologies.Theinnovations(创新）thatresultedfromresearchanddevelopmentduringWorldWarⅡand
afterwardswere 36 totheprosperityofthenationinthesecondhalfofthe20thcentury.Thoseinnovations,upon
whichvirtuallyallaspectsof37 societynowdepend,werepossiblebecausetheUnitedStatesthen 38 theworld
inmathematicsandscienceeducation.Today,however,despiteincreasingdemandforworkerswithstrongskillsin
mathematicsandscience,the 39 ofdegreesawardedinscience,math,andengineeringaredecreasing.
The decline in degree production in what are called the STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering,
andmath)seemstobe 40 relatedtothecomparativelyweakperformancebyUSschoolchildrenoninternational
assessmentsofmathandscience.Manystudentsenteringcollegehaveweakskillsinmathematics.Accordingtothe
2005reportoftheBusiness-HigherEducationForum,22percentofcollegefreshmenmusttakeremedial(补习的）
math 41 ,andlessthanhalfofthestudentswhoplantomajorinscienceorengineering 42 completeamajorin
thosefields.
The result has been a decrease in the number of American college graduates who have the skills, 43 in
mathematics,topoweraworkforcethatcankeepthecountryattheforefront（前沿）ofinnovationandmaintainits
standard of living. With the 44 performance of American students in math and science has come increased
competitionfrom studentsfrom othercountries thathave strongly supportededucationin theseareas.Many more
A)accelerating I)especially
B)actually J)future
C)closely K)led
D)contemporary L)met
E)courses M)procedures
F)critical N)proportions
G)declining O)spheres
H)degrees
studentsearn 45 intheSTEMdisciplinesindevelopingcountriesthanintheUnitedStates.
SectionB
Directions: In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it. Each statement
containsinformationgiveninoneoftheparagraphs.Identifytheparagraphfromwhichtheinformationisderived.
You may choose a paragraph more than once. Each paragraph is marked with a letter. Answer the questions by
markingthecorrespondingletteronAnswerSheet2.
BanSugaryDrinks—ThatWillAddFueltotheObesityWar
[A]OnatrainlastThursday,Isatoppositeamanwhowassofathefilledmorethanoneseat.Hewaspaleand
disfiguredandlookedsicktodeath,whichheprobablywas:obesity(肥胖症）leadstomanynastywaysofdying.
Lookingaroundthecarriage, Isaw quiteafewpeoplelikehim, includingacoupleoffatty childrenwithswollen
cheekspressingagainsttheireyes.Thesepeoplearepartofwhatiswithoutexaggerationanepidemic (流行病) of
obesity.
[B]Butitisquiteunnecessary:thereisasimpleidea—farfromnew—thatcouldsparemillionsofsuchpeople
alifetimeofchronic(长期的）illhealth,andatthesametimesavetheNationalHealthService(NHS)atleast￡14
billionayearinEnglandandWales.Therewould,youmightthink,beconsiderablepublicinterestinit.Thissimple
ideaisthatsugarisasgood—orasbad—aspoisonandshouldbeavoided.Itispure,whiteanddeadly,asProfessor
JohnYudkindescribedit40yearsagoinarevolutionarybookofthatname.ThesubtitlewasHowSugarIsKilling
Us.
[C]Initscountlesshiddenforms,inreadymeals,junkfoodandsweetdrinks,sugarleadstoaddiction(癮）,to
hormonal upsets to the appetite, to metabolic (新陈代谢的）malfunctions and obesity and from there to type 2
diabetes(糖尿病) anditsmanyhorriblecomplications.Ifpeoplereallygraspedthat,theywouldtrytokickthe
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habit, particularly as Britain is the “fat man of Europe”. They might even feel driven to support government
measurestopreventpeoplefromconsumingthisdeadlystuff.Yetsofarthisideahasmetlittlebutresistance.
[D]Itisnotdifficulttoimaginethevestedinterests(既得利益集团）linedupagainstanysugarcontrol—all
the food and drink manufacturers, processors, promoters and retailers who make such easy pickings out of the
magicpowersofsugar.Thentherearetheliberals,withwhomIwouldnormallyside,whoprotestthatgovernment
regulationwouldbeyetanotherinstanceofinterferenceinourlives.
[E]Thatistrue,butpeopleshouldrealisethatyoucannothaveawelfarestatewithoutanannystate(保姆国
家）,tosomedegree.Ifwearealltoberesponsibleforoneanother’shealthinsurance,throughsocialisedmedicine,
thenweareallcloselyinvolvedinoneanother^health,includingeveryone’seatinganddrinking.Thathasalready
beenadmitted,finally,withsmoking.Butithasyettobeadmittedwithovereating,eventhoughoneinfouradultsin
this country is obese and that number is predicted to double by the year 2050. Quite apart from anything else,
obesitywillcrippletheNHS.
[F] Recently, though, there have been signs thatthe medical establishment is trying to sound the alarm. Last
month the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AMRC) published a report saying that obesity is the greatest
publichealthissueaffectingtheUKandurginggovernmenttodosomething.
[G]Thereportoffers10recommendations,ofwhichthefirstisimposingataxof20percentonsugarydrinks
foratleastayear, ontopoftheexisting20percentvalue-addedtax. Thatatleastwouldbeanexcellentstart. The
amountsofsugarinsoftdrinksarehorrifying,andturnstraighttofat.AsProfessorTerenceStephenson,headofthe
AMRC, has said, sugary soft drinks are "the ultimate bad food. You are just consuming neat sugar. Your body
didn’tevolvetohandlethiskindofthing.
[H] Precisely. The risks of eating too much fat or salt (which are very different) pale into insignificance
comparedwiththeharmdonebysugar.Anditiseverywhere.
[I] It is difficult to buy anything in a supermarket, other than plain, unprepared meat, fish or vegetables, that
doesn’thavealargeamountofsugarinit.Thishascomeaboutbecausetheprevailingscientificviewsofthe1960s
and1970signoredtheevidenceaboutsugar,andinsteadsawfatasthereallyseriousrisk,bothtotheheartandother
organs,aswellasthecauseofobesity.
[J] The fashion was to avoid fat. But finding that food with much of its fat removed is not very appetizing,
foodproducersturnedtosugarasamagicalternativeflavourenhancer,oftenintheformsofsyrups（糖浆）thathad
recentlybeendevelopedfromcom,andputitgenerouslyintomostpreparedfoodsandsoftdrinks.
[K] This stuff is not just fattening. It is addictive. It interferes with the body’s metabolism, possibly via the
activityofanappetite-controllinghormone.There’splentyofevidenceforthis,forthosewhowillacceptthetruth.
[L] Theoretically, people ought to make” healthy choices” and avoid overeating. But sugar additives are not
easy to identify and are hard to avoid. So the snacking, overdrinking and overeating that makes people fat is not
reallytheirownfault：obesityisinlargepartsomethingthatisbeingdonetothem.Itshouldbestopped, orrather
thegovernmentshouldstopit.
[M] Going round my local supermarket, I am constantly astonished that it is still legal to sell all the poisons
stackedhighontheshelves.Theproblemisthattheyareworsethanuseless.Theyarepoisonous.Theyareknown
to be addictive. They are known to make people obese. And giving small children sweet drinks or bottles of fake
juicealldaylongisnothinglessthanchildabuse.
[N]Clearly,thesaleofsuchstuffoughttobeillegal.Ihatetothinkofyetmoregovernmentregulation.Buta
bitoftaxonsweetsodaandalittle morehealtheducation,abitofcookinginschoolsandbanningmachines (自
动售货机）here and there—as suggested by the AMRC report—is notgoing to achieve very much. Labelling is
quiteinadequate.Whatisneededislegislationbanninghighlevelsofsugarysyrupsusedinfoodsanddrinks.
[O]InJune2012,thethenministerforpublichealthsaidthegovernmentwasnotscaredofthefoodindustry
andhadnotruledoutlegislation,becauseofthecostsofobesitytotheNHS.However,nothinghashappenedyet.
WhynothaveanotherJammieDodgerbiscuitandforgetaboutit.
46.Avoidingover-consumptionofsugarcanimprovepeopledhealthaswellassavemedicalexpenses.
47.Lawsshouldbepassedtomakeitillegaltoproduceoverlysweetfoodsordrinks.
48.Givingsmallchildrensweetjuicestodrinkallthetimeisequaltochildabuse.
49.Lookingaround,theauthorfoundobesityquitewidespread.
50.Thenumberofobesepeopleisexpectedtoincreasequicklyinthenextfewdecades.
51.If people really understood the horrible consequences of sugary foods and drinks, they would support
governmentmeasuresagainstsugarconsumption.
52.Itwouldbeaverygoodbeginningtoimposeanadditionaltaxonsugarydrinks.
53.Thegovernmenthasnotyettakenanyactiontoregulatesugarconsumptionalthoughitindicateditsintention
todososometimeago.
54.Sugarisfarmoreharmfultohealththanfatandsalt.
55.Consumersofsweetfoodsarenotreallytoblamebecausetheycannottellwhatfoodissugary.
SectionC
Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished
22014年12月年大学英语四级考试真题（三）
statements.ForeachofthemtherearefourchoicesmarkedA),B),C)andD).Youshoulddecideonthebestchoice
andmarkthecorrespondingletteronAnswerSheet2withasinglelinethroughthecentre.
PassageOne
Questions56to60arebasedonthefollowingpassage.
TheriseoftheInternethasbeenoneofthemosttransformativedevelopmentsinhumanhistory, comparable
in impact to the invention of the printing press and the telegraph. Over two billion people worldwide now have
access to vastly more information than ever before, and can communicate with each other instantly, often using
Web-connectedmobiledevicestheycarryeverywhere.ButtheInternetstremendousimpacthasonlyjustbegun.
“MassadoptionoftheInternetisdrivingoneofthemostexcitingsocial,cultural,andpoliticaltransformations
inhistory,andunlikeearlierperiodsofchange,thistimetheeffectsarefullyglobal,”SchmidtandCohenwritein
theirnewbook,TheNewDigitalAge.
Perhaps the most profound changes will come when the five billion people worldwide who currently lack
Internetaccessgetonline.TheauthorsdoanexcellentjobofexaminingtheimplicationsoftheInternetrevolution
forindividuals,governments,andinstitutionslikethenewsmedia.Butifthebookhasonemajorshortcoming,it’s
thattheauthorsdon’tspendenoughtimeapplyingacriticaleyetotheroleofInternetbusinessesinthesesweeping
changes.
Intheirbook,theauthorsprovidethemostauthoritativevolumetodatethatdescribes—andmoreimportantly
predicts—how the Internet will shape our lives in the coming decades. They paint a picture of a world in which
individuals,companies,institutions,andgovernmentsmustdealwithtworealities,onephysical,andonevirtual.
At thecore of the bookis the idea that“technology is neutral, butpeoplearen’t.’’ By using this conceptas a
startingpoint, theauthorsaim tomove beyondthe nowfamiliar optimist vs. pessimistdichotomy (对立观点)
thathascharacterizedmanyrecentdebatesaboutwhethertheriseoftheInternetwillultimatelybegoodorbadfor
society.InaninterviewwithTIMEearlierthisweek,Cohensaidalthoughheandhisco-authorareoptimisticabout
many aspects of the Internet, they’ve also realistic about the risks and dangers that lie ahead when the next five
billionpeoplecomeonline,particularlywithrespecttopersonalprivacyandstatesurveillance(监视).
56.InwhatwayistheriseoftheInternetsimilartotheinventionoftheprintingpressandthetelegraph?
A)Ittransformshumanhistory. C)Itisadoptedbyallhumanity.
B)Itfacilitatesdailycommunication. D)Itrevolutionizespeople’sthinking.
57.HowdoSchmidtandCohendescribetheeffectsoftheInternet?
A)Theyareimmeasurable. C)Theyareunpredictable.
B)Theyareworldwide. D)Theyarecontaminating.
58.InwhatrespectisthebookTheNewDigitalAgeconsideredinadequate?
A)ItfailstorecognizetheimpactoftheInternettechnology.
B)ItfailstolookintothesocialimplicationsoftheInternet.
C)ItlacksanobjectiveevaluationoftheroleofInternetbusinesses.
D)ItdoesnotaddressthetechnicalaspectsofInternetcommunication.
59.Whatwillthefuturebelikewheneverybodygetsonline?
A)Peoplewillbelivingintwodifferentrealities.
B)Peoplewillhaveequalaccesstoinformation.
C)Peopledon’thavetotraveltoseetheworld.
D)Peopledon^havetocommunicatefacetoface.
60.WhatdoesthepassagesayabouttheauthorsofTheNewDigitalAge?
A)TheyleavemanyquestionsunansweredconcerningtheInternet.
B)TheyareoptimisticaboutthefutureoftheInternetrevolution.
C)Theyhaveexploredtheunknownterritoriesofthevirtualworld.
D)TheydontakesidesinanalyzingtheeffectsoftheInternet.
PassageTwo
Questions61to65arebasedonthefollowingpassage.
In1950,ayoungmanwouldhavefounditmucheasierthanitistodaytogetandkeepajobintheautoindustry.
Andinthatyeartheaverageautoworkercouldmeetmonthlymortgage（抵押贷款）paymentsonanaveragehome
withjust13.4percentofhistake-homepay.Todayasimilarmortgage wouldclaimmorethantwicethatshareof
hismonthlyearnings.
Other members of the autoworker’s family, however, might be less inclined to trade the presentfor the past.
Hisretiredparentswouldcertainlyhavehadlesseconomicsecuritybackthen.Throughoutmuchofthe1960s,more
thanaquarterofmenandwomenage65andolderlivedbelowthepovertylevel,comparedtolessthan10percent
in2010.
In most states, his wife could not have taken out a loan or a credit card in her own name. In 42 states, a
homemaker had no legal claim on the earnings of her husband. And nowhere did a wife have legal protection
againstfamilyviolence.
Mostblackworkerswouldnotwanttoreturntoatimewhen,onaverage,theyearned40percentlessthantheir
white counterparts (职位相当的人）,while racially restrictive agreements largely prevented them from buying
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intothesuburbanneighborhoodsbeingbuiltforwhiteworking-classfamilies.
Today,newproblemshaveemergedintheprocessofresolvingoldones,butthesolutionisnottogobackto
thepast.Somepeoplemaylongforanerawhendivorce wasstillhardtocomeby. Thespreadofno-faultdivorce
has reduced the bargaining power of whichever spouse is more interested in continuing the relationship. And the
breakupofsuchmarriageshascausedpainformanyfamilies.
The growing diversity of family life comes with new possibilities as well as new challenges. According to a
recentpoll,morethan80percentofAmericansbelievethattheircurrentfamilyisascloseastheoneinwhichthey
grewup,orcloser.Findingwaystoimprovethelivesoftheremaining20percentseemsmorerealisticthantryingto
restoreanimaginarygoldenage.
61.WhatdowelearnaboutAmericanautoworkersin1950?
A)Theyhadlessjobsecuritythantheydotoday.
B)Itwasnottoodifficultforthemtobuyahouse.
C)Theirearningswereworthtwiceasmuchastoday.
D)Theywerebetteroffthanworkersinotherindustries.
62.Whatdoestheauthorsayaboutretiredpeopletoday?
A)Theyinvariablylongtoreturntothegoldenpast.
B)Theydonotdependsomuchonsocialwelfare.
C)Theyfeelmoresecureeconomicallythaninthepast.
D)Theyareusuallyunwillingtolivewiththeirchildren.
63.Whycouldn’tblackworkersbuyahouseinawhitesuburbanneighborhood?
A)Theylackedthemeansoftransportation. C)Theywereafraidtobreakthelaw.
B)Theyweresubjectedtoracialinequality. D)Theyweretoopoortoaffordit.
64.Whatistheresultofno-faultdivorce?
A)Divorceiseasiertoobtain. C)Itcauseslittlepaintoeitherside.
B)Domesticviolenceislessened. D)Itcontributestosocialunrest.
65.Whatdoestheauthorsuggestsocietydo?
A)Getpreparedtofaceanynewchallenges.
B)Trytobetterthecurrentsocialsecuritynet.
C)Narrowthegapbetweenblacksandwhites.
D)Improvethelivesoffamilieswithproblems.
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