2000年1月至2002年1月四级试题

2002年1月四级试题PartIIReadingComprehension(35minutes)PassageOneQuestions21to25arebasedonthefollowingpassage.Somepessimisticexpertsfeelthattheautomobileisboundtofallintodisuse.Theyseeadayinthenot-too-distantfuturewhenallautoswillbeabandonedandallowedtorust.Otherauthorities,however,thinktheautoisheretostay.Theyholdthatthecarwillremainaleadingmeansofurbantravelintheforeseeablefuture.Themotorcarwillundoubtedlychangesignificantlyoverthenext30years.Itshouldbecomesmaller,safer,andmoreeconomical,andshouldnotbepoweredbythegasolineengine.Thecarofthefutureshouldbefarmorepollution-freethanpresenttypes.Regardlessofitspowersource,theautointhefuturewillstillbethemainprobleminurbantrafficcongestion(拥挤).Oneproposedsolutiontothisproblemistheautomatedhighwaysystem.Whentheautoentersthehighwaysystem,aretractable(可伸缩的)armwilldropfromtheautoandmakecontactwitharail,whichissimilartothosepoweringsubwaytrainselectrically.Onceattachedtotherail,thecarwillbecomeelectricallypoweredfromthesystem,andcontrolofthevehiclewillpasstoacentralcomputer.Thecomputerwillthenmonitorallofthecar'smovements.Thedriverwilluseatelephonetodialinstructionsabouthisdestinationintothesystem.Thecomputerwillcalculatethebestroute,andreservespaceforthecarallthewaytothecorrectexitfromthehighway.Thedriverwillthenbefreetorelaxandwaitforthebuzzer(蜂鸣器)thatwillwarnhimofhiscomingexit.Itisestimatedthatanautomatedhighwaywillbeabletohandle10,000vehiclesperhour,comparedwiththe1,500to2,000vehiclesthatcanbecarriedbyapresent-dayhighway.21.Onesignificantimprovementinthefuturecarwillprobablybe________.A)itspowersourceB)itsdrivingsystemC)itsmonitoringsystemD)itsseatingcapacity22.Whatistheauthor'smainconcern?A)Howtorenderautomobilespollution-free.B)Howtomakesmallerandsaferautomobiles.C)Howtosolvetheproblemoftrafficjams.D)Howtodevelopanautomatedsubwaysystem.23.Whatprovidesautoswithelectricpowerinanautomatedhighwaysystem?A)Arail.B)Anengine.C)Aretractablearm.D)Acomputercontroller.24.Inanautomatedhighwaysystem,allthedriverneedstodois_______.A)keepintherightlaneB)waittoarriveathisdestinationC)keepinconstanttouchwiththecomputercenterD)informthesystemofhisdestinationbyphone25.Whatistheauthor'sattitudetowardthefutureofautos?A)Enthusiastic.B)Pessimistic.C)Optimistic.D)Cautious.PassageTwoQuestions26to30arebasedonthefollowingpassage.Foxesandfarmershavenevergotonwell.Thesesmalldog-likeanimalshavelongbeenaccusedofkillingfarmanimals.Theyareofficiallyclassifiedasharmfulandfarmerstrytokeeptheirnumbersdownbyshootingorpoisoningthem.Farmerscanalsocallontheservicesoftheirlocalhunttocontrolthefoxpopulation.Huntingconsistsofpursuingafoxacrossthecountryside,withagroupofspeciallytraineddogs,followedbymenandwomenridinghorses.Whenthedogseventuallycatchthefoxtheykillitorahuntershootsit.Peoplewhotakepartinhuntingthinkofitasasport;theywearaspecialuniformofredcoatsandwhitetrousers,andfollowstrictcodesofbehavior.Butowningahorseandhuntingregularlyisexpensive,somosthuntersarewealthy.Itisestimatedthatupto100,000peoplewatchortakepartinfoxhunting.Butoverthelastcoupleofdecadesthenumberofpeopleopposedtofoxhunting,becausetheythinkitisbrutal(残酷的),hasrisensharply.Nowadaysitisrareforahunttopassoffwithoutsomekindofconfrontation(冲突)betweenhuntersandhuntsaboteurs(阻拦者).Sometimestheseincidentsleadtoviolence,butmostlysaboteursinterferewiththehuntbymisleadingridersanddisturbingthetrailofthefox'ssmell,whichthedogsfollow.Noisyconfrontationsbetweenhuntersandsaboteurshavebecomesocommonthattheyarealmostasmuchapartofhuntingasthepursuitoffoxesitself.Butthisyearsupportersoffoxhuntingfaceamuchbiggerthreattotheirsport.ALabourPartyMemberoftheParliament,MikeFoster,istryingtogetParliamenttoapproveanewlawwhichwillmakethehuntingofwildanimalswithdogsillegal.Ifthelawispassed,wildanimalslikefoxeswillbeprotectedunderthebaninBritain.26.RichpeopleinBritainhavebeenhuntingfoxes_____.A)forrecreationB)intheinterestsofthefarmersC)tolimitthefoxpopulationD)toshowoftheirwealth27.WhatisspecialaboutfoxhuntinginBritain?A)Itinvolvestheuseofadeadlypoison.B)Itisacostlyeventwhichrarelyoccurs.C)Thehuntershavesetrulestofollow.D)Thehuntershavetogothroughstricttraining.28.Foxhuntingopponentsofteninterfereinthegame________.A)byresortingtoviolenceB)byconfusingthefoxhuntersC)bytakinglegalactionD)bydemonstratingonthescene29.AnewlawmaybepassedbytheBritishParliamentto________.A)prohibitfarmersfromhuntingfoxesB)forbidhuntingfoxeswithdogsC)stophuntingwildanimalsinthecountrysideD)preventlarge-scalefoxhunting30.Itcanbeinferredfromthepassagethat________.A)killingfoxeswithpoisonisillegalB)limitingthefoxpopulationisunnecessaryC)huntingfoxeswithdogsisconsideredcruelandviolentD)fox-huntingoftenleadstoconfrontationbetweenthepoorandtherichPassageThreeQuestions31to35arebasedonthefollowingpassage.ForanincreasingnumberofstudentsatAmericanuniversities,Oldissuddenlyin.Thereasonisobvious:thegrayingofAmericameansjobs.Coupledwiththeagingofthebaby-boom(生育高峰)generation,alongerlifespanmeansthatthenation'selderlypopulationisboundtoexpandsignificantlyoverthenext50years.By2050,25percentofallAmericanswillbe