大学英语四级模拟试卷
Part I. Reading Comprehension (40%)
Directions: There are 4 reading passages in this section. Each passage is followed by
some questions. For each question there are four suggested answers marked A, B, C and D. Choose the best answer to each question.
Passage 1
Every country tends to accept its own way of life as being normal one and to praise or criticize others as they are similar to or different from it. And unfortunately, our picture of the people and the way of life of other countries is often a distorted one. Here is a great argument in favor of traveling abroad and learning foreign languages. It is only by traveling or living in a country and getting to know its inhabitants and their language that one can find out what a country and its people are like. And how different the knowledge one gains this way frequently turns out to be from the second-hand information gathered from other sources! How often we find that the foreigners whom we thought to be such different people from ourselves are not very different after all.
Differences between peoples do, of course, exist and, one hopes, will always continue to exist. The world will be a dull place indeed when all the different nationalities behave exactly alike, and some people might say that we are rapidly approaching this state of affairs. With almost the whole of Western Europe belonging to the European Economic Community (EEC) and the increasing standardization this brings about, plus the much greater rapidity and ease of travel, there might seem some truth in this—at least as far as Europe is concerned. However this may be, at lest the greater ease of travel today has revealed to more people than ever before that the Englishman or Frenchman or German is not some different animal from themselves.
1. The passage is mostly concerned with the issue of ____.
A. advantages of the EEC
B. attitudes towards other countries C. learning foreign languages D. differences among people
2. According to the author, ____.
A. our knowledge of other cultures are always wrong
B. reading books about other countries is the safest way of understanding their peoples
C. there are more similarities than differences among different people D. there are more differences than similarities among different people
3. Some people think that European peoples are identifying themselves with each other because of the following EXCEPT _____. A. the establishment of the EEC
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B. the greater rapidity and ease of travel C. the increasing standardization D. the rapid industrialization
4. The clause “However this may be” suggests that ____.
A. the author is going to introduce a new idea B. the author is about to avoid any conclusion
C. the author is about to give up his own point of view D. the author will stick to his own point of view
5. The passage seems to attach importance to ____.
A. the greater ease of travel nowadays than before B. the uncontrollable tendency to identification
C. the similarities in terms of way of life between different cultures D. the differences between European peoples and other nations
Passage 2
The more time scientists spend designing computers the more they marvel at the human brain. Tasks that baffle（难住）the most advanced supercomputer—recognizing a face, reading a handwritten note—are child’s play for the 3-pound organ. Most important, unlike any conventional computer, the brain can learn from its mistakes. Researchers have tried for years to program computers to imitate the brain’s abilities, but without success. Now a growing number of designers believe they have the answer: if a computer is to function more like a person and less like an over-grown calculator it must be built more like a brain, which distributes information across a vast interconnected web of nerve cells, or neurons.
Conventional computers function by following a chainlike sequence of detailed instructions. Although very fast, their processors can perform only one task at a time. This approach works best in solving problems that can be broken down into simpler logical pieces. The processors in a neural-network computer, by contrast, form a network much like the nerve cells in the brain. Since these artificial neurons are interconnected, they can share information and perform tasks at the same time. This two-dimensional approach works best at recognizing patterns.
Instead of programming a neural-network computer to make decisions, its maker trains it to recognize patterns in any solution to a problem by repeatedly feeding examples to the machine.
Neural networks come in all shapes and sizes. Until now most existed as software simulations（模拟品）because redesigning computer chips took a lot of time and money. By experimenting with different approaches through software rather than hardware, scientists have been able to avoid costly mistakes.
6. It can be inferred from the first paragraph that the most advanced supercomputer ____.
A. can recognize a face and read a handwritten note
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B. can learn from its mistakes C. weigh only 3 pounds
D. cannot distribute information across an interconnected web of nerve cells
7. What is NOT true of a conventional computer?
A. It must be programmed before it works. B. It can only solve one problem at a time. C. It is good at solving one problem at a time.
D. It is trained to recognize patterns instead of making decisions.
8. The main feature of a neural-network computer is that ____.
A. its processors act as an interconnected web of neutrons B. it is programmed to make decisions C. its networks are of all shapes and sizes D. its neurons are artificial
9. The expression “this two-dimensional approach” in the second paragraph refers to ____.
A. the conventional computer and the neural computer B. making decisions and recognizing patterns C. sharing information and performing tasks D. the computer and the human brain
10. Scientists use software rather than hardware in their experiments because ____.
A. it can avoid redesigning computer chips B. it can save a lot of time and money C. it can avoid making mistakes
D. it is more like the human brain
Passage 3
Teenagers who have done well in high school are usually confident and college-bound—but they are not the majority. Many of their peers have not yet learned necessary survival skills or experienced any feeling of achievement. They lack both the job skills and the sophistication that are needed to find work in a tight job market. Their sagging（消沉的）self-image is not improved when they are rejected by prospective employers who have neither the time nor the budget to train raw recruits.
Today business and industry are engaged in myriad mysterious machinations（谋划）that challenge the understanding of even the brightest adult. No wonder young people, fresh out of senior government class, are lost! Some high schools acknowledge students’ needs by offering work experience and career observation and exploration programs. Often the shyest, least successful students will not even apply. For many, approaching the first rung（梯级）of the career ladder is the most difficult step in the entire lifetime career process. Statistics show that the unemployment rate for young adults is two to three times higher than the rate for the remainder of the population.
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Walter Williams, who teaches at Temple University, favors a lower minimum age and wage for teenagers. He maintains such changes would increase employment for the young, especially minorities, allowing them to step up onto the first rung of the career ladder and gain badly needed work experience. Such services as movie ushering and car hopping might be reinstated（恢复）without taking jobs away from older people.
11. According to the author, most high school teenagers ______. A. are confident B. are stupid C. lack confidence D. lack financial support
12. The word “peers” in line 2, paragraph 1 means _____.
A. children B. parents C. noblemen D. equals
13. At the beginning of the second paragraph, the author tries to convince the reader
that _____.
A. teenagers are not to blame for the present situation B. young people are not doing well in some high schools C. there is something wrong with the government’s policies D. adults are certainly cleverer than teenagers
14. The author believes that ______.
A. young people should take firm steps to start their careers B. young people should help the adults whenever they can C. high school graduates should choose to go to college first D. unemployment should be done away with in this country
15. Walter Williams thinks that _____.
A. young people all need to earn some pocket money B. some jobs suit the young only
C. only students with work experience are suitable for college education D. young people all need some work experience
Passage 4
There is no question that the poor are sicker. Unfortunately, there are no nationwide mortality（死亡率）statistics by income. One of the best studies has been a recent comparison of poverty and non-poverty areas in Chicago (This does not permit really fine analysis, because of the limitations of area comparisons). Crude mortality in poverty areas was only three per cent higher than in non-poverty area; but the people in poverty areas are younger, and if it had been possible to compute age-specific rates, the differences would be much greater. Differentials（差异）in infant mortality were very large—75 per cent higher in poverty than in non-poverty areas. In both cases, the differences between white and nonwhite were even more substantial than between poverty and non-poverty areas.
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The clearest and best evidence of poorer health among the poor is to be found in studies of days of disability per person per year, where differences of the order of two-to-one are found. Those in families with income of under $2,000 a year have 29 restricted activity days a year, while those with family income over $4,000 a year have less than half that, 13 restricted activity days a year.
But while the poor are sicker, the differences in the utilization of health care are not as marked as one might expect. The same study which reported twice as many disability days for those under $2,000 a year as for those over $4,000 a year showed lesser differences with respect to the use of doctors. Fifty-nine per cent of the poorer group have consulted a doctor in the previous year, 13 per cent a specialist, compared with 73 per cent and 28 per cent of the better-off income groups. These differences in health care utilization by poor and non-poor, which were once extreme, are now declining. Indeed, in some settings they are now reversed. In 1928-31, families with an income of more than $5,000 spent 11 times as much on medical care as families with income under $1,200. In 1962, families with incomes of more than &7,000 spent only 37 per cent more on medical care than families with incomes under $2,000.
16. Compared with that in non-poverty areas, crude mortality of young people in poverty areas is ______. A. slightly lower B. more or less the same C. slightly higher D. much higher
17. The most striking contrasts in mortality can be found between ______. A. different areas B. different races C. different families D. different income groups
18. “Restricted activity days” are days when ______.
A. sick people have to stay in hospital for further treatment B. one takes a long holiday away from work
C. sick people have to keep from their normal activities D. one is restricted in his freedom of action
19. The difference that is diminishing between the poor and the non-poor is that in _____.
A. the utilization of health care B. the opportunities of employment C. their living conditions D. their state of health
20. From the passage (as the beginning paragraphs of a long article), it is very likely that the author will go on to discuss _____. A. how to eliminate poverty in the U.S.A.
B. how to gather nationwide mortality statistics by income C. how to help those poor people who are sick
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D. how to train more qualified doctors for the rich people
Part II. Vocabulary and structure (20%)
Directions: There are 20 incomplete sentences in this section. For each sentence there
are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the ONE that best complete the sentence.
1. The mayor tried to ____ every citizen in the cleanup campaign.
A. enlist B. entitle C. gain D. regain
2. Sand had ____ at the mouth of the river and formed a bank which boats could not
pass.
A. collected B. accumulated
C. assembled D. added
3. This work will cost over 1 million, which is more than we can afford; ____, we cannot do it at this time. A. then B. still C. however D. hence
4. Someone pressed a switch and all the lights on the Christmas tree ____ on together.
A. flushed B. gazed C. flashed D. shivered
5. Disaster ____ them when they were caught in Germany at the beginning of World
War II. A. betrayed B. befell C. dropped D. sank
6. The pressure of too much homework has led to an evident ____ in interest in sports among the students. A. absence B. minimum C. shortage D. decline
7. The road ____ over two hundred miles through the heart of the country.
A. stretched B. prolonged C. expanded D. approached
8. In spite of all ____ has been said, the tourists have been picking leaves and cutting their names on the tree trunk. A. which B. what C. that D. as
9. Can you ____ the TV set for me so that it is not too bright?
A. switch B. change C. balance D. adjust
10. We have plenty of bread, ____ butter, we have more than enough.
A. as for B. owing to C. except for D. out of
11. People of all countries are expected to ____ the principles of the United Nations. .
A. uphold B. inspect
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C. exaggerate D. integrate
12. The bicycle is a form of transportation whose ____ we take for granted.
A. satisfaction B. convenience C. expenditure D. coordination
13. You really ought to ____--all these late nights are doing you no good.
A. pull through B. slow down C. bring down D. pass through
14. After retirement my father ____ enormous pleasure from his coin collection.
A. figured B. released C. derived D. attached
15. It’s typical ____ Peter to waste time when he knows we are already late.
A. for B. about C. with D. of
16. In this way, smokers will know which brands are most ____ to affect their health.
A. definitely B. likely C. naturally D. certainly
17. Unless the contract is signed immediately, I shall ____ my offer.
A. acquire B. withdraw C. relieve D. depart
18. What he’s saying about the market may be true, but I’m ____ to give it a closer
look.
A. opposed B. objected C. inclined D. intended
19. People here are really nice and ____. They invite you to their homes for Sunday dinner.
A. hospitable B. responsible C. welcome D. good-tempered
20. Marion put a marker in her book so that she would know where she ____.
A. drew on B. sized up C. left off D. followed up Part III. Word-building (10%)
Directions: Complete each of the following sentences with the correct form of the
italicized word on the left of each sentence.
1. fail Boredom, isolation and loneliness can lead to marriage
breakdowns and a ____ to complete assignments.
2. assist A great number of ____ in the nursing home need training in
specific skills, particularly behavior management and first aid.
3. significant Time has no meaning in itself unless we choose to give it ____. 4. concentrate ____ is the secret of success in all the management of human
affairs.
5.depend However strong and loving the bond between carer and ____ may
be, constant caring is likely to bring some frustrations and difficulties.
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6. account 7. inhabit 8. sequence
9. employ 10. believe
Part IV. Error-identification (10%)
Directions: Each of the following sentences has four parts underlined and marked A, B,
C and D. You are to identify the one that needs correction.
1. It isn’t worth expend such a large sum of money on repairing the house if you plan to A B C
move out of it pretty soon.
D
2. John was, so speak, the leader of the club, but he was officially only the club’s A B C D secretary.
3. The average temperature on Mars, the fourth planet in the solar system, is about A B eighty degree colder than on earth.
C D 4. What are commonly known as “lead” pencils are not lead, but rather mixture of A B C D graphite, clay and wax.
5. Since light spreads in all direction, a light viewed from a great distance appears A B C dimmer than it actually is.
D
6. Before they admit us, we will have to pass tests of our ability to read well, reason A B clearly, follow directions, and spelling correctly. C D
7. Biologists are predicting that they have been able to alter genes and control heredity. A B C D
8. The school board is in opinion that sports occupied too much of the students’ time. A B C D 9. I have read the news of today. How about one of yesterday? A B C D
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If all the financial matters can be dealt with by an ____, it is certain that the artist will have more time to develop her art. He wants to visit a nature reserve without a single permanent human ____.
This approach falls into five ____ stage: topic selection; inquiry and analysis; discussion; conclusions and communication. He was thrown into ____ when the factory closed.
She is a great lover of cats. It’s ____ how many cats she has!
10. It is difficult to do generalizations about the characteristics of modern music A B because of the variety of existing style.
C D
Part V. Translation (20%)
Directions: Translate the following sentences into Chinese.
1. There was a short, thoughtful silence. Then he said, \"Dad, you have just worked a profound change in my personality.\"
2. Some persons say that love makes the world go round. Others of a less romantic and more practical turn of mind say that it isn't love; it's money.
3. If reading is to accomplish anything more than passing time, it must be active.
4. Jim Thorpe was a hero after the Olympics and a sad, bewildered man not too much later.
5. In an underworld culture, the countryside would be right there, a few hundred yards above the upper level of the cities -- wherever you are.
6. This is a credulous age, and the burden of knowledge which we now have to carry is partly responsible.
7. In the hilly farmlands of southern Wisconsin and Minnesota, we found the fields and forests green and the creeks still flowing.
8. I caught sight of her at the play, and in answer to her beckoning I went over during the interval and sat down beside her.
9. Work is more than a necessity for most human beings; it is the focus of their lives, the source of their identity and creativity.
10. Truthful information, humanely conveyed, helps patients cope with illness: helps them tolerate pain better, need less medicine, and even recover faster after surgery.
.
模拟试卷答案
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Part I. Reading Comprehension (40%)
1. B 2. C 3.D 4. D 5. A 6. D 7. D 8. A 9. C 10. B 11. C 12. D 13. A 14. A 15. D 16. D 17. B 18. C 19. A 20.C
Part II. Vocabulary and structure (20%)
1. A 2. B 3. D 4. C 5. B 6. D 7. A 8. C 9. D 10. A 11. A 12. B 13. B 14. C 15. D 16. B 17. B 18. C 19. A 20. C
Part III. Word-building (10%)
1. failure 2. assistants 3. significance 4. Concentration 5. dependant 6. accountant 7. inhabitant 8. sequential 9. unemployment 10. unbelievable
Part IV. Error-identification (10%)
1. A 2. A 3. C 4. D 5. A 6. D 7. B 8. B 9. D 10. A
Part V. Translation (20%)
1． 电话里出现了暂时的沉默，他在思考。接着，他说，“爸爸，你刚才的话使我深受启迪，
令我恍然大悟。”
2． 有些人说，爱情驱使世界运转；另一些并不那么罗曼蒂克而更为注重实际的人则说，不是
爱情，而是金钱。
3． 如果阅读的目的不仅仅是消磨时间，那就应该是一种积极的思维活动。
4． 奥林匹克运动会后，吉姆索普成了英雄，但没过多久，他就成了一个悲伤、迷惘的人。
5． 在地下世界文化中，乡村就在城市上面几百码远的地方——不管你在哪里都是这样。
6． 如今是个轻信的时代。究其缘由，部分在于，我们现今必须掌握的知识实在太多了。
7． 在威斯康星和明尼苏达南部的丘陵地带的农业地区，我们看到农田和森林青翠葱绿，山间
小溪依然流水潺潺。
8． 我是在看戏的时候见到她的。幕间休息时，我应她的招呼走了过去，在她旁边坐下。
9． 对大多数人来说，工作不仅仅是一种必需，它还是人们生活的焦点，是他们个性和创造力
的源泉。
10. 将真实情况妥当地告诉病人，能帮助他们与病魔作斗争，有助于他们更好地忍受疼痛，减
少用药，甚至在手术后更快地康复。
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