2014年6月四级阅读真题（二）_Password_Removed_大学英语四级+六级_四级真题_专项_四级仔细阅读_2010-2014_2014.06四级

2014年6月大学英语四级考试真题（二） 2014 年 6 月大学英语四级考试阅读真题（第 2 套） PartⅢ Reading Comprehension (40 minutes) SectionA Directions:Inthissection,thereisapassagewithtenblanks.Youarerequiredtoselectonewordforeachblankfromalistof choicesgiveninawordbankfollowingthepassage.Readthepassagethroughcarefullybeforemakingyourchoices.Eachchoice inthebankisidentifiedbyaletter.PleasemarkthecorrespondingletterforeachitemonAnswer Sheet 2withasingleline throughthecentre.Youmaynotuseanyofthewordsinthebankmorethanonce. Questions36to45arebasedonthefollowingpassage. Globalwarmingisatrendtowardwarmerconditionsaroundtheworld.Partofthewarmingisnatural;wehave experienceda20,000-year-longwarmingasthelasticeageendedandtheice 36 away.However,wehavealready reachedtemperaturesthatarein 37 withotherminimum-iceperiods,socontinuedwarmingislikelynotnatural. Weare 38 toapredictedworldwideincreaseintemperatures 39 between1℃and6℃overthenext100years. Thewarmingwillbemore 40insomeareas,lessinothers,andsomeplacesmayevencooloff.Likewise,the 41 ofthiswarmingwillbeverydifferentdependingonwhereyouare—coastalareasmustworryaboutrisingsea levels,whileSiberiaandnorthernCanadamaybecomemorehabitable(宜居的)and 42 forhumansthanthese areasarenow. The fact remains, however, that it will likely get warmer, on 43 , everywhere. Scientists are in general agreementthatthewarmerconditionswehavebeenexperiencingareatleastinparttheresultofahuman-induced globalwarmingtrend.Somescientists 44 thatthechangesweareseeingfallwithintherangeofrandom(无规 律的）variation—some years are cold,others warm, andwe have justhadan unremarkable string of warm years 45 —but that is becoming an increasingly rare interpretation in the face of continued and increasing warm A)appealing I)melted B)average J)persist C)contributing K)ranging D)dramatic L)recently E)frequently M)resolved F)impact N)sensible G)line O)shock H)maintain conditions. SectionB Directions:Inthissection,youaregoingtoreadapassagewithtenstatementsattachedtoitEachstatementcontainsinformation giveninoneoftheparagraphs.Identifytheparagraphfromwhichtheinformationisderived.Youmaychooseaparagraphmore thanonce.Eachparagraphismarkedwithaletter.AnswerthequestionsbymarkingthecorrespondingletteronAnswerSheet2. TheEndoftheBook? [A]Amazon,byfarthelargestbooksellerinthecountry,reportedonMay19thatitisnowsellingmorebooks initselectronicKindleformatthanintheoldpaper-and-inkformat.Thatisremarkable,consideringthattheKindle hasonlybeenaroundforfour years. E-books nowaccountfor 14percentofall booksales in this countryandare increasing far faster than overall book sales. E-book sales are up 146 percent over last year, while hardback sales increased6percentandpaperbacksdecreased8percent. [B]Doesthisspellthedoomofthephysicalbook?Certainlynotimmediately, andperhapsnotatall.Whatit doesmeanisthatthebookbusinesswillgothroughatransformationinthenextdecadeorsomore profoundthan anyithasseensinceGutenbergintroducedprintingfrommoveabletypeinthe1450s. [C] Physical books will surely become much rarer in the marketplace. Mass market paperbacks, which have been declining for years anyway, will probably disappear, as will hardbacks for mysteries, thrillers, “romance fiction,”etc.Suchbooks, whichonlyrarelyendupinpermanentcollections,eitherprivateorpublic,willprobably onlybeavailablease-bookswithinafewyears.Hardbackandtradepaperbacksfor“serious”nonfictionandfiction willsurelylastlonger.Perhapsitwillbecomethemarkofanauthortoreckonwiththatheorsheisstillpublishedin hardcopy. [D]Asforchildren’sbooks,whoknows?Children’sbooksarelikedogfoodinthatthepurchasersarenotthe consumers,sothemarket(andthemarketing)isinherentlystrange. [E]Forcluestothebook’sfuture,let’slookatsomeexamplesoftechnologicalchangeandseewhathappened totheoldtechnology. [F]Onetechnologyreplacesanotheronlybecausethenewtechnologyisbetter,cheaper,orboth.Thegreater thedifference,thesoonerandmorethoroughlythenewtechnologyreplacestheold.Printingwithmoveabletypeon 1 淘宝店铺：https://shop499712503.taobao.com/ 店主旺旺：慧园文化2014年6月大学英语四级考试真题（二） paper dramatically reduced the cost of producing a book compared with the old-fashioned ones handwritten on vellum, which comes from sheepskin. A Bible—to be sure, a long book—required vellum made from 300 sheepskinsandcountlessman-hoursoflabor.Beforeprintingarrived,aBiblecostmorethanamiddle-classhouse. Therewereperhaps50,000booksinallofEuropein1450.By1500therewere10million. [G]Butwhileprintingquicklycausedthehandwrittenbooktodieout,handwritinglingeredon(继续存在)well intothe16thcentury.Veryspecialbooksarestilloccasionallyproducedonvellum,buttheyareone-of-a-kindshow pieces. [H] Sometimes a new technology doesn’t drive the old one out, but only parts of it while forcing the rest to evolve. The movies were widely predicted to drive live theater out of the marketplace, but they didn’t, because theaterturnedouttohavequalitiesmovies couldnotreproduce.Equally,TV wassupposedtoreplacemovies but, again,didnot. [I]Moviesdid,however,fatallyimpactsomepartsoflivetheater.AndwhileTVdidn’tkillmovies,itdidkill second-ratepictures,shorts,andcartoons. [K] Nor did TV kill radio. Comedy and drama shows (“Jack Benny, “Amos and Andy, “The Shadow”) all migratedtotelevision.Butbecauseyoucan’tdrive acarandwatchtelevision atthesame time, rushhourbecame radio’s prime time, while music, talk, and news radio greatly enlarged their audiences. Radio is today a very differentbusinessthaninthelate1940sandamuchlargerone. [L] Sometimes old technology lingers for centuries because of its symbolic power. Mounted cavalry (骑 兵)replaced the chariot(二轮战车）on the battlefield around 1000 BC. But chariots maintained their place in paradesandtriumphsrightupuntiltheendoftheRomanEmpire1,500yearslater.Theswordhasn’thadamilitary functionfor a hundred years, but is still partof an officer’s full- dress uniform, precisely because a sword always symbolized“anofficerandagentleman.’’ [M] Sometimes new technology is a little cranky(不稳定的）at first. Television repairman was a common occupation in the 1950s, for instance. And so the old technology remains as a backup. Steamships captured the NorthAtlanticpassengerbusinessfromsailinthe1840sbecauseofitsmuchgreaterspeed.Butsteamshipsdidn’t losetheirsailsuntilthe1880s,becauseearlymarineengineshadanastyhabitofbreakingdown.Untilshipsbecame large enough (andengines smallenough) to mounttwo engines side by side, theyneededto keep sails. (The high costof steamand thelesser needfor speedkept themajority ofthe world’s oceanfreight moving by sailuntilthe earlyyearsofthe20thcentury.) [N] Then there is the fireplace. Central heating was present in every upper- and middle-class home by the secondhalfofthe19thcentury.Butfunctioningfireplacesremaintothisdayapowerfulsellingpointinahouseor apartment. I suspect the reason is a deep-rooted love of fire. Fire was one of the earliest major technological advances for humankind, providing heat, protection, and cooked food (which is much easier to eat and digest). Human control of fire goes back far enough (over a million years) that evolution could have produced a genetic leaningtowardsfireasacentralaspectofhumanlife. [O]Books—especiallybookstheaveragepersoncouldafford—haven’tbeenaroundlongenoughtoproduce evolutionary change in humans. Butthey have a powerfulhold on many peoplenonetheless, a holdextending far beyondtheirliterarycontent.Attheirbest,theyareworks ofartandthereisatactile(触觉的）pleasureinbooks necessarilylostine-bookversions.Theabilitytoquicklythumbthroughpagesisalsolost.Andaroomwithbooks initinduces,atleastinsome,afeelingnotdissimilartothatofafireinthefireplaceonacoldwinter’snight. [P] For these reasonsI thinkphysical books willhave a longer existence as acommercial productthansome currently predict. Like swords, books have symbolic power. Like fireplaces, they induce a sense of comfort and warmth.And,perhaps,similartosails,theymakeausefulbackupforwhenthelightsgoout. 46.Authorsstillpublishedinprintedversionswillbeconsideredimportantones. 47.Somepeoplearestillinfavorofprintedbooksbecauseofthesenseoftouchtheycanprovide. 48.Theradiobusinesshaschangedgreatlyandnowattractsmorelisteners. 49.Contrarytomanypeopledpredictionofitsdeath,thefilmindustrysurvived. 50.Remarkablechangeshavetakenplaceinthebookbusiness. 51.Oldtechnologysometimescontinuestoexistbecauseofitsreliability. 52.Theincreaseofe-booksaleswillforcethebookbusinesstomakechangesnotseenforcenturies. 53.Anewtechnologyisunlikelytotaketheplaceofanoldonewithoutaclearadvantage. 54.Paperbacksofpopularliteraturearemorelikelytobereplacedbye-books. 55.Ahousewithafireplacehasastrongerappealtobuyers. SectionC Directions:Thereare2passagesinthissection.Eachpassageisfollowedbysomequestionsorunfinishedstatements.Foreachof themtherearefourchoicesmarkedA),B),C)andD).Youshoulddecideonthebestchoiceandmarkthecorrespondingletteron AnswerSheet2withasinglelinethroughthecentre. PassageOne Questions56to60arebasedonthefollowingpassage. The question of whether ourgovernment should promote science and technology or the liberal arts in higher 2 淘宝店铺：https://shop499712503.taobao.com/ 店主旺旺：慧园文化2014年6月大学英语四级考试真题（二） education isn’t an either/or proposition (命题), although the currentemphasis on preparing young Americans for STEM(science,technology,engineering,maths)-relatedfieldscanmakeitseemthatway. Thelatestcongressionalreportacknowledgesthecriticalimportanceoftechnicaltraining,butalsoassertsthat the study of the humanities (人文学科）and social sciences must remain central components of America’s educationalsystematalllevels.Bothareasarecriticaltoproducingcitizens whocanparticipateeffectivelyinour democratic society, become innovative(创新的）leaders, and benefit from the spiritual enrichment that the reflectiononthegreatideasofmankindovertimeprovides. Parents and students who have invested heavily in higher education worry about graduates, job prospects as technological advances and changes in domestic and global markets transform professions in ways that reduce wagesandcutjobs.Underthesecircumstances,it’snaturaltolookforwhatmayappeartobethemost“practical” wayoutoftheproblem:“Majorinasubjectdesignedtogetyouajob”seemstheobviousanswertosome,though this ignores the fact that many disciplines in the humanities characterized as “soft” often, in fact, lead to employmentandsuccessinthelongrun.Indeed,accordingtosurveys,employershaveexpressedapreferencefor studentswhohavereceivedabroadly-basededucationthathastaughtthemtowritewell, thinkcritically,research creatively,andcommunicateeasily. Moreover,studentsshouldbepreparednotjustfortheirfirstjob,butfortheir4thand5thjobs,asthere’slittle reasontodoubtthatpeopleenteringtheworkforce todaywill becalledupontoplaymanydifferentrolesover the courseoftheircareers.Theoneswhowilldothebestinthisnewenvironmentwillbethosewhoseeducationshave prepared them to be flexible. The ability to draw upon every available tool and insight—picked up from science, arts, and technology—to solve the problems of the future, and take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves,willbehelpfultothemandtheUnitedStates. 56.Whatdoesthelatestcongressionalreportsuggest? A)STEM-relatedsubjectshelpstudentsfindjobsintheinformationsociety. B)ThehumanitiesandSTEMsubjectsshouldbegivenequalimportance. C)Theliberalartsinhighereducationhelpenrichstudents’spirituallife. D)Highereducationshouldbeadjustedtothepracticalneedsofsociety. 57.Whatisthemainconcernofstudentswhentheychooseamajor? A)Theirinterestinrelevantsubjects. C)Thequalityofeducationtoreceive. B)Theacademicvalueofthecourses. D)Theirchancesofgettingagoodjob. 58.Whatdoestheauthorsayabouttheso-calledsoftsubjects? A)Theybenefitstudentsintheirfuturelife. B)Theybroadenstudents’rangeofinterests. C)Theyimprovestudents’communicationskills. D)Theyareessentialtostudents’healthygrowth. 59.Whatkindofjobapplicantsdoemployerslookfor? A)Thosewhohaveastrongsenseofresponsibility. B)Thosewhoaregoodatsolvingpracticalproblems. C)Thosewhoarelikelytobecomeinnovativeleaders. D)Thosewhohavereceivedawell-roundededucation. 60.Whatadvicedoestheauthorgivetocollegestudents? A)Seizeopportunitiestotaptheirpotential. C)Preparethemselvesfordifferentjoboptions. B)Trytotakeavarietyofpracticalcourses. D)Adoptaflexibleapproachtosolvingproblems. PassageTwo Questions61to65arebasedonthefollowingpassage. Energy independence. It has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? If you think so, you’re not alone, because energy independencehasbeenthedreamofAmericanpresidentsfordecades,andnevermoresothaninthepastfewyears, whenthemostrecentoilpriceshockhasbeenpartlyresponsibleforkickingoffthegreatrecession. “Energy independence” and its rhetorical(修辞的）companion “energy security” are, however, slippery conceptsthatarerarelythoughtthrough.Whatisitwewantindependencefrom,exactly? Mostpeoplewouldprobablysaythattheywanttobeindependentfromimportedoil.Buttherearereasonsthat webuyallthatoilfromelsewhere. Thefirstreasonisthatweneedittokeepoureconomyrunning.Yes,thereisatrickle(涓涓细流）ofbiofuel （生物燃料）available, and more may become available, but most biofuels cause economic waste and environmentaldestruction. Second,Americanshavebasicallydecidedthattheydon’treallywanttoproducealltheirownoil.Theyvalue the environmental quality they preserve over their oil imports from abroad. Vast areas of the United States are off-limitstooilexplorationandproductioninthenameofenvironmentalprotection.TowhatextentareAmericans reallywillingtoenduretheenvironmentalimpactsofdomesticenergyproductioninordertocutbackimports? Third,therearebenefitstotrade.Itallowsforeconomicefficiency,andwhenwebuythingsfromplacesthat havelowerproductioncoststhanwedo,webenefit.Andalthoughyoudon’treadaboutthismuch,theUnitedStates 3 淘宝店铺：https://shop499712503.taobao.com/ 店主旺旺：慧园文化2014年6月大学英语四级考试真题（二） is also a large exporter of oil products, selling about 2 million barrels of petroleum products per day to about 90 countries. ThereisnoquestionthattheUnitedStatesimportsagreatdealofenergyand,infact,reliesonthatsteadyflow tomaintainitseconomy.Whenthatflowisinterrupted,wefeelthepaininshortsuppliesandhigherprices.Atthe sametime,wederivemassiveeconomicbenefitswhenwebuythemostaffordableenergyontheworldmarketand whenweengageinenergytradearoundtheworld. 61.WhatdoestheauthorsayaboutenergyindependenceforAmerica? A)Itsoundsveryattractive. C)Itwillbringoilpricesdown. B) Itensuresnationalsecurity. D)Ithaslongbeeneveryone’sdream. 62.Whatdoestheauthorthinkofbiofuels? A)TheykeepAmerica’seconomyrunninghealthily. B)Theyprovetobeagoodalternativetopetroleum. C)Theydonotprovideasustainableenergysupply. D)Theycauseseriousdamagetotheenvironment. 63.WhydoesAmericarelyheavilyonoilimports? A)Itwantstoexpanditsstorageofcrudeoil. B)Itsownoilreservesarequicklyrunningout. C)Itwantstokeepitsownenvironmentintact. D)Itsownoilproductionfallsshortofdemand. 64.Whatdoestheauthorsayaboutoiltrade? A)Itprovesprofitabletobothsides. C)Itmakesforeconomicprosperity. B)Itimproveseconomicefficiency. D)Itsavesthecostofoilexploration. 65.Whatistheauthor’spurposeinwritingthepassage? A)TojustifyAmerica’sdependenceonoilimports. B)ToarouseAmericans’awarenessoftheenergycrisis. C)Tostresstheimportanceofenergyconservation. D)Toexplaintheincreaseofinternationaloiltrade. 4 淘宝店铺：https://shop499712503.taobao.com/ 店主旺旺：慧园文化