6月英语四级考前模拟试卷

xx年6月英语四级考前模拟试卷

Part II Reading Comprehension (35 minutes)

Directions: There are 4 reading passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the center. Passage One

Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage. There is a difference between science and technology. Science is a method of answering theoretical questions; technology is a method of solving practical problems. Science has to do with discovering the facts and relationships between observable phenomena in nature and with establishing theories that serve to organize these facts and relationships; technology has to do with tools, techniques, and procedures for implementing the finding of science.

Another distinction between science and technology has to do with the progress in each.

Progress in science excludes the human factor. Scientists, who seek to prehend the universe and know the truth within the highest degree of auracy and certainty,

cannot pay attention to their own or other people's likes or dislikes or to popular ideas about the fitness of things. What scientists discover may shock or anger people-as did Darwin's theory of evolution. But even an unpleasant truth is more than likely to be useful; besides, we have the choice of refusing to believe it! But hardly so with technology; we do not have the choice of refusing to hear the sonic boom produced by a supersonic aircraft flying overhead; we do not have the option of refusing to breathe polluted air; and we do not have the option of living in a non-atomic age. Unlike science progress, technology must be measured in terms of the human factor. The legitimate purpose of technology is to serve people in general, not merely some people; and future generations, not merely those who presently wish to gain advantage for themselves. Technology must be humanistic if it is to lead to a better world.

21. The difference between science and technology lies in that .

A) the former provides answers to theoretical questions while the latter to practical problems

B) the former seeks to prehend the universe while the latter helps change the material world

C) the former aims to discover the inter-connections of facts and the rules that explain them while the latter, to

discover new designs and ways of making the things we use in our daily life D) all of the above

22. Which of the following may be representative of science?

A) The improvement of people's life. B) The theory of people's life. C) Farming tools. D) Mass production.

23. Aording to the author, scientific theories . A) must be strictly objective

B) usually take into consideration people's likes and dislikes

C) should conform to popular opinions

D) always appear in perfect and finished forms 24. The author states that technology itself .

A) is responsible for widespread pollution and resource exhaustion

B) should serve those who wish to gain advantage for themselves

C) will lead to a better world if put to wise use D) will inevitably be for bad purpose

25. The tone of the author in this passage is . A) positive B) negative

C) factual D) critical Passage Two

Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage. Americans have always been ambivalent in their attitudes toward education. On the one hand, free and universal public education was seen as necessary in a democracy, for how else would citizens learn how to govern themselves in a responsible way? On the other hand, America was always a country that offered financial opportunities for which education was not needed: on the road from rags to riches, schooling-beyond the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic-was an unnecessary detour.

Even today, it is still possible for people to achieve financial suess without much education, but the number of situations in which this is possible is decreasing. In today's more plex world, the opportunities for financial suess is closely related to the need for education, especially higher education.

Our society is rapidly being one whose chief product is information, and dealing with this information requires more and more specialized education. In other words, we grow up learning more and more about fewer and fewer subjects.

In the future, this trend is likely to continue. Tomorrow's world will be even more plex than today's world, and, to manage this plexity, even more specialized education will be needed.

26. The topic treated in this passage is . A) education in general B) Americans' attitudes C) higher education D) American education

27. Americans' attitudes toward education have always been .

A) certain B) contradictory C) ambitious D) unclear

28. Today, financial suess is closely related to the need for .

A) higher education B) public education

C) responsible citizens D) learning the basics

29. It can be inferred from the third paragraph that . A) information is our only product

B) education in the future will be specialized C) we are entering an age of information D) we are living in an age of information

30. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A) The History of American Education.

B) The Need for Specialized Education.

C) The Future of the American Educational System. D) Attitudes toward American Education. Passage Three

Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage. A growing world population and the discoveries of science may alter this pattern of distribution in the future. As men slowly learn to master diseases, control floods, prevent famines, and stop wars, fewer people die every year; and in consequence the population of the world is steadily increasing. In 1925 there were about 2,000 million people in the world; by the end of the century there may well be over 4,000 million.

When numbers rise the extra mouths must be fed. New lands must be brought under cultivation, or land already farmed made to yield larger crops. In some areas the aessible land is so intensively cultivated that it will be difficult to make it provide more food. In some areas the population is so dense that the land is parceled out in units too tiny to allow for much improvement in farming methods. Were a large part of this farming population drawn off into industrial oupations, the land might be farmed much more productively by modern methods.

There is now a race for science, technology, and industry to keep the output of food rising faster than the

number of people to be fed. New strains of crops are being developed which will thrive in unfavorable climates: there are now farms beyond the Arctic Circle in Siberia and North America; irrigation and dry-farming methods bring arid lands under the plough, dams hold back the waters of great rivers to ensure water for the fields in all seasons and to provide electric power for new industries; industrial chemistry provides fertilizers to suit particular soils; aeroplanes spray crops to destroy locusts and many plant diseases. Every year some new means is devised to increase or to protect the food of the world.

31. The author says that the world population is growing because .

A) there are many rich valleys and fertile plains B) the pattern of distribution is being altered C) people are living longer

D) new land is being brought under cultivation

32. The author says that in densely populated areas the land might be more productively farmed if . A) the plots were subdivided

B) a large part of the people moved to a different part of the country

C) industrial methods were used in farming D) the units of land were made much larger

33. We are told that there are now farms beyond the Arctic Circle. This has been made possible by . A) producing new strains of crops B) irrigation and dry-farming methods C) providing fertilizers

D) destroying pests and disease

34. Which of these words is nearest in meaning to the word \"strains\"? A) types B) sizes C) seeds D) harvests

35. The author's main purpose is to .

A) argue for a belief B) describe a phenomenon C) entertain D) propose a conclusion