2016年6月英语四级模拟试题及答案
Part I Listening Comprehension
(Omitted)
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 comprehend the universe and know the truth within the highest degree of accuracy 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 comprehend 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. According 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 success without much education, but the number of situations in which this is possible is decreasing. In today's more complex world, the opportunities for financial success is closely related to the need for education, especially higher education.
Our society is rapidly becoming 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 complex than today's world, and, to manage this complexity, 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 success 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 accessible 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 occupations, 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
Passage Four
Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage.
For some time past it has been widely accepted that babies-and other creatures-learn to do things because certain acts lead to "rewards"; and there is no reason to doubt that this is true. But it used also to be widely believed that effective rewards, at least in the early stages, had to be directly related to such basic physiological(生理的) "drives" as thirst or hunger. In other words, a baby would learn if he got food or drink or some sort of physical comfort, not otherwise.
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