2024年全国英语等级考试四级阅读练习题

　　孔子说过：工欲善其事必先利其器，要做好一件事，做好准备工作非常重要。以下是小编为大家搜索整理的2024年全国英语等级考试四级阅读练习题，希望能给大家带来帮助!

　　全国英语等级考试四级阅读练习题 1

　　Part C

　　In the following article, some sentences have been removed. For Questions 51 —— 55, choose the most suitable one from the list [A] —— [ G ] to fit into each of the numbered gaps. There are two extra choices, which you do not need to use. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET.

　　On the north bank of the Ohio River sits Evansville, Ind., home of David Williams,52, and of a riverboat casino ( a place where gambling games are played). During several years of gambling in that casino, Williams, a state auditor eaming$ 35,000 a year, lost approximately $175,000. He had never gambled before the casino sent him a coupon for $ 20 worth of gambling.

　　He visited the casino, lost the $ 20 and left. On his second visit he lost $ 800. The casino issued to him, as a good customer, a "Fun Card", which when used in the casino earns points for meals and drinks, and enables the casino to track the user s gambling activities. For Williams,those activities become what he calls "electronic heroin. "

　　(51) In 1997 he lost $21,000 to one slot machine in two days. In March

　　1997 he lost $ 72,186. He sometimes played two slot machines at a" time, all night, until the boat docked at 5 a. m., then went back aboard when the casino opened at 9 a. m. Now he is suing the casino, charging that it should have refused his patronage because it knew he was addicted. It did know he had a problem.

　　In March 1998, a friend of Williams s got him involuntarily confined to a treatment center for addictions, and wrote to inform the casino of Williams s gambling problem. The casino included a photo of Williams among those of banned gamblers, and wrote to him a "cease admissions" letter.

　　Noting the "medical/psychological" nature of problem gambling behavior, the letter said that before being readmitted to the casino he would have to present medical/psychological information demonstrating that patronizing the casino would pose no threat to his safety or well-being.

　　(52) .

　　The Wall Street Journal reports that the casino has 24 signs warning : "Enjoy the fun...and always bet with your head, not over it". Every entrance ticket lists a toll-free number for counseling from the Indiana Department of Mental Health. Nevertheless, Williams s suit charges that the casino, knowing he was "helplessly addicted to gambling", intentionally worked to "lure" him to"engage in conduct against his will. " Well.

　　(53) .

　　The fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders says "pathological gambling" involves persistent, recurring and uncontrollable pursuit less of money than of the thrill of taking risks in quest of a windfall.

　　(54) . Pushed by science, or what claims to be science, society is reclassifying what once were considered character flaws or moral failings as personality disorders akin to physical disabilities.

　　(55) .

　　Forty-four states have lotteries,29 have casinos, and most of these states are to varying degrees dependent on--you might say addicted to revenues from wagering. And since the first Internet gambling site was created in 1995, competition for gamblers dollars has become intense. The Oct.28 issue of Newsweek reported that 2 million gamblers patronize 1,800 virtual casinos every week. With $ 3.5 billion being lost on Internetwagers this year, gambling has passed pornography as the Web s most profitable business.

　　A. Although no such evidence was presented, the casino s marketing department continued to pepper him with mailings. And he entered the casino and used his Fun Card without being detected.

　　B. It is unclear what luring was required, given his compulsive behavior. And in what sense was his will operative?

　　C. By the time he had lost $ 5,000 he said to himseff that if he could get back to even, he would quit. One night he won $ 5,500, but he did not quit.

　　D. Gambling has been a common feature of American life forever, but for a long time it was broadly considered a sin, or a social disease. Now it is a social policy: the most important and aggressive promoter of gambling in America is the government.

　　E. David Williams s suit should trouble this gambling nation, But don t bet on it.

　　F. It is worrisome that society is medicalizing more and more behavioral problems, often defining as addictions what earlier, sterner generations explained as weakness of will.

　　G. The anonymous, lonely, undistracted nature of online gambling is especially conductive to compulsive behavior. But even if the government knew how to move against Intemet gambling, what would be its grounds for doing so?

　　Part C

　　参考译文

　　印第安纳,k11的埃文斯座落在俄亥俄河的北岸，它是52岁的大卫·威廉姆斯的家乡，也是一家河船赌场的所在地。就在这家赌场，威廉姆斯，一名年薪35，000美元的州政府审计员，几年赌博下来，输掉了大约175，000美元。他以前从未进行过赌博，后来赌场送给他一张价值20美元的赌博优惠券，他便沾上了赌。

　　他第一次去赌场，输掉了那20美元后就离开了。第二次，他输掉了800美元。赌场把他看作优质顾客，发给他一张“开心卡”，在赌场使用时可赢得积分，换取食物和饮料。同时，该卡也可以使赌场跟踪持卡人的赌博活动。对威廉姆斯而言，这些赌博活动成为他所谓的“电子毒烟”。

　　(51)输到5，000美元时，他对自己说，如果能够把输掉的钱赢回来，就不赌了。一天晚上：他赢了5：500美元：但是并没盔就此停手。1997年，他两天之内就在一台赌钱机上输掉了21，000美元。到了三月份，他又输掉了72，186美元。有时候他同时在两台赌钱机上赌，通宵达旦.一直到早晨5点赌船靠岸，然后等到赌场上午9点开放时他又回到船上继续赌。现在，他正起诉该赌场，指控其明明知道他已经赌博上瘾，就应该阻止他继续光顾。赌场的确知道他已经赌博成瘾。

　　1998年3月，威廉姆斯的一个朋友将他强制送进了戒赌治疗中心接受治疗，并且写信告知那家赌场有关威康姆斯赌博上瘾的问题。赌场将威廉姆斯的照片放入被禁止去赌博人员的名单中，并给他写了一封“禁赌通知书”。通知书在指明赌博行为对人健康和心理造成危害的同时，还提到，如果他要再次光顾赌场，必须出示医疗或心理状况信息。以证明光顾赌场不会对他的安全和健康造成任何威胁。

　　(52)尽管他没有出示相关证明，赌场的市场部仍不断地给他发邮件，而且他又进入赌场并使用了开心卡也无人察觉。

　　据《华尔街日报》报道，那个赌场内有24个警告标志：“尽享欢乐…赌博时要用脑子，不要冲昏头脑”。每张入场券上都印有印第安纳州心理健康部门的免费咨询号码。然而，威廉姆斯的诉讼指控赌场，明明知道他“不可救药地沉溺于赌博”，仍然故意“引诱”他“做出违背自己意愿的行为”。

　　(53)不清楚到底是什么样的诱惑使他做出这种不能自控的行为，而且在何种意义上他的意志才会起作用?

　　《心理疾病诊断与统计手册》第四版中这样写道，“病态赌博行为”指的是持续地、反复地且无法自控地追求意外横财，这种追求更多的是寻求冒险刺激，并非仅仅是为了钱。

　　(54)令人不安的是，社会越来越倾向于用医学的方法来处理行为问题，过去更为严厉的前辈们解释为“意志力薄弱”的行为，现在通常被定义为“沉溺症”。在科学或者所谓“科学”的推动下，社会正将之前被视为性格缺陷、道德沦丧的现象重新划分为类似于生理障碍的人格疾病。

　　(55)赌博一直是美国人生活中的一个司空见惯的现象，但是长期以来，人们通常把它视作是一种罪过或者一种社会疾病。而现在赌博却成为一项社会政策：在美国，对赌博最重要、最积极的推动者就是政府。

　　美国有44个州发行彩票，29个州开设赌场，而且这些州大多在不同程度上依赖或者说是“沉溺于”来自于赌博的收入。自从1995年第一家在线赌博网站建立以来，争夺赌徒手中金钱的竞争变得更加激烈。《新闻周刊}10月28日报道说，每周有200万赌徒光顾1，800家虚拟赌场。因今年共有35亿美元丢到了网络赌博中，赌博业已经超过色情业成为网络上利润最大的行业。

　　答案及解析

　　51.C 【解析】本题是顺接关系题。该空格位于第三段的开头，因此要结合上下文，注意其叙述或衔接关系。空格前后都是在讲述威廉姆斯赌博的具体事例，且出现了大量的数字，由前文的$20和$800再到空格后的$21，000和$72，185，数字越来越大，这表明他越赌输掉的钱就越多。由此可推断，空白处也应与他的输赢或输赢的数目有关。浏览各选项，只有C出现了数字$5，000 和$5，500，与前后文的数字形成照应。另外，从逻辑关系上看，空格前一句提到，威廉姆斯称这些赌博活动为“电子毒烟”，接下来的内容该是具体说明他是如何逐步赌博成瘾的，这由输钱金额的渐增体现出来。C选项的事实数据与上下文在逻辑表达方向上一致。

　　52.A 【解析】本题是转折关系题。该空格出现在第五段，要求填入一个完整的段落。空格前的'内容谈到在朋友写信告知那家赌场有关威廉姆斯赌博上瘾的问题后，赌场似乎已经尽到了它的义务：将其列入了禁止进入赌场的名单，并提到他若再次进入此赌场需出示相关医学和心理学信息，以证明光顾赌场不会对他的安全和健康造成任何威胁。但实际上从下一段内容得知，赌场在明知他上瘾的情况下并未采取行动。选项A段落即由“al-though”引起转折，提到尽管威廉姆斯没有提供相关证据，但还是频频收到赌场市场部的邮件，而且进入赌场使用开心卡也无人察觉，继续说明了赌场的行为：表面上禁止，却仍在暗中鼓励他赌博。如此一来，与之前内容构成了转折关系。另外，该选项中的“Although no such evidence was presented”和上文中的“he would have to present medical/psychological information”语义上衔接紧密，“such evidence”与“medical/psychological informa-tion”形成合理的指代关系，构成篇章的一致性。

　　53.B 【解析】本题是顺接关系题。该空格出现在第七段，也要求填入一个完整的段落。空格前面谈到威廉姆斯对赌场的控诉，明明知道赌徒已经“不可救药地沉溺于赌博”仍然故意“引诱”(1ure)他“做出违背自己意愿(will)的行为”。空格后引出一个新话题介绍“病态赌博行为”的一个定义。按照逻辑关系，空格处的内容应与上一段或下一段相关。浏览各选项，可以发现，选项B中“…what luring was required…was his will operative”再次出现了关键词“lure”和“will”，对前面的内容进一步作了补充和说明，且提出问题让下一段回答，正好起到了承上启下的作用。F项虽然也再次出现了前一句的“will”，但“用医学的方法来处理行为问题”与前一段语义上不衔接，故排除。G项提到了“compul-sive behavior”，但其中的新话题“在线赌博”也与上文不衔接。

　　54.F 【解析】本题是顺接关系题。该空格属于第九段的段首句。空格前面提到了“病态赌博行为”的一个定义。空格后则指出“socie-ty is reclassifying what once were considered character flaws or moral failings as personality disorders akin to physical disabilities.”社会对性格缺陷或道德沦丧的新看法。即上下文都从理论上谈及赌博，与赌场或赌徒的具体行为不相关，所以可以排除A、C、E三项。根据上下文的衔接关系又可将D、G两项排除，因为其中都引入了新信息：政府与网上赌博。8项的“compulsive behav-ior”虽与前面的“uncontrollable”相呼应，却与下文没有任何关联。而F项内容上也谈到了社会对意志力薄弱这一行为的新看法，与前后文都具有意义和逻辑上的一致性。此外，该选项的 “defining as…”与空格后的“reclassifying…as…”结构类似，且 “medicalize”与上文的“diagnostic，mental disorders，pathologi-cal”和空格后的“physical”都是属于医学范畴的词;“weakness of will”与空格后的“character flaws”这一信息相关。

　　55.D 【解析】本题是顺接关系题。此空格出现在第十段，要求填入一个完整的段落。空格前面主要介绍了社会现在对“病态赌博行为”的定义。空格后面则具体描述了赌博在美国的发展情况以及导致这一现象的原因。根据逻辑关系分析，空格处的内容可能会起到承上启下的作用。分析各选项，可发现，D选项的第一句内容“…a common feature of American life…a sin，or a social disease”正好承接上文，和下文的具体例子之间也构成了总结例证的逻辑关系，其中“a sin，or a social disease”与前一句的“char-acter flaws or moral failings”相照应;第二句则引出了下一段所描述的赌博业蓬勃发展的现象，且“government”与下一段首句的“states”照应。

　　全国英语等级考试四级阅读练习题 2

　　【阅读练习】

　　Nowadays, is it possible to tell a persons class just by looking at him? Physical details __1__ tell us about health, diet and type of work done. A hundred years ago the working class very often lookd unhealthy, small and were either too thin or too fat. The upper classes were often __2__, sporting types who were used to a good diet and looked healthy. Today living and working conditions have improved, and such __3__ would no longer be so true.The clothes people choose to wear, however, do provide information about their __4__. The most obvious way in which is for the amount of money spent on them. Expensive clothes look expensive and show their wearer had money. Clothes can provide other __5__ as well. The upper classes __6__ to be less interested in fashion and wear good quality clothes in non-bright colours, made of natural material like wool, leather or cotton. Lower working class people often choose clothes in bright colours, made of man-made material. A sociological explanation for this would be that color and interest are mssing from their lives, and therefore any opportunity to introduce this is __7__.Clothes are __8__ at a price within most peoples reach. New clothes make the wearer feel good, and show some __9__ of wealth to the outside world. Today some new fashions are started by the lower working class people who want to look __10__ and feel important. They want people to look at them.

　　A) available

　　B) background

　　C) different

　　D) tall

　　E) totally

　　F) taken

　　G) descriptions

　　H) degree

　　I) clues

　　J) alone

　　K) appear

　　L) consider

　　M) full

　　N) hobby

　　O)fetched

　　【答案】

　　1、选J)。此处应填副词。可选项有totally和alone，由前一句中just可推出，外表上的细节仅仅能告诉我们这个人的健康状况，平时的营养状况以及他所从事的工作而不能看出他所处的阶级，故排除totally而选alone“惟一”。

　　2、选D)。此处应填形容词。因此此句和前一句是在将以前的工人阶级和上层阶级的'身体状况进行对比，故此处应填与small“矮的”意思相反的词，选项中只有tall符合题意。而full“丰满的”不能用来修饰sporting types,故排除。

　　3、选G)。此处应填名词。现在的生活和工作条件改善了，情况已经不同了。而such指代的是上文中对一百年以前工人阶级和上层阶级的身体状况的身体状况的描述，故descriptions“描述”符合题意。

　　4、选B)。此处应填名词。根据句意“衣服可以提供...方面的信息”，选项中有background和hobby，选background“人的背景，社会阶层”，符合文章主题。

　　5、选I)。由as well可知，此处应填名词且与本段首句中的informaiton的意思相近，选项中只有clues“线索”符合题意。

　　6、选K)。此处应填动词的原形。选项中有appear和consider,appear可直接接不定式;而consider带不定式的复合结构，用于主动语态时，consider后面得接宾语，故选appear。

　　7、选F)。这句中this指代bright colour，句子主干是any opportunity is...。可选项有taken和fetched,take“抓住”则可以与opportunity搭配，但fetch“拿来”不能与opportunity构成动宾搭配，故排除fetched而选taken。

　　8、选A)。此处应填形容词。句子意思是“衣服的价钱......，大多数人都买得起。”选项中只有available“可以接受的”符合题意。

　　9、选H)。此处应填名词。由a price within most peoples reach可推出，此处新衣服向外界显示的是穿衣者的富裕程度，故选择degree“程度”。

　　10、选C)。此处应填形容词。由new fashions和feel important可推出工人阶级想通过穿衣来改变他们，而选项中只有different“与众不同的”符合此意，故选择C)。

　　全国英语等级考试四级阅读练习题 3

　　Part II Reading Comprehension

　　(35 minutes)

　　Directions: There are 4 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.

　　Is there enough oil beneath the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (保护区) (ANWR) to help secure Americas energy future? President Bush certainly thinks so. He has argued that tapping ANWRs oil would help ease Californias electricity crisis and provide a major boost to the countrys energy independence. But no one knows for sure how much crude oil lies buried beneath the frozen earth with the last government survey, conducted in 1998, projecting output anywhere from 3 billion to 16 billion barrels.

　　The oil industry goes with the high end of the range, which could equal as much as 10% of U.S. consumption for as long as six years. By pumping more than 1 million barrels a day from the reserve for the next two three decades, lobbyists claim, the nation could cut back on imports equivalent to all shipments to the U.S. from Saudi Arabia. Sounds good. An oil boom would also mean a multibillion-dollar windfall (意外之财) in tax revenues, royalties (开采权使用费) and leasing fees for Alaska and the Federal Government. Best of all, advocates of drilling say, damage to the environment would be insignificant. “Weve never had a document case of oil rig chasing deer out onto the pack ice.” says Alaska State Representative Scott Ogan.

　　Not so far, say environmentalists. Sticking to the low end of government estimates, the National Resources Defense Council says there may be no more than 3.2 billion barrels of economically recoverable oil in the coastal plain of ANWR, a drop in the bucket that would do virtually nothing to ease Americas energy problems. And consumers would wait up to a decade to gain any benefits, because drilling could begin only after much bargaining over leases, environmental permits and regulatory review. As for ANWRs impact on the California power crisis, environmentalists point out that oil is responsible for only 1% of the Golden States electricity output—and just 3% of the nations.

　　21. What does President Bush think of tapping oil in ANWR?

　　A) It will exhaust the nations oil reserves.

　　B) It will help secure the future of ANWR.

　　C) It will help reduce the nations oil imports.

　　D) It will increase Americas energy consumption.

　　22. We learn from the second paragraph that the American oil industry ________.

　　A) believes that drilling for oil in ANWR will produce high yields

　　B) tends to exaggerate Americas reliance on foreign oil

　　C) shows little interest in tapping oil in ANWR

　　D) expects to stop oil imports from Saudi Arabia

　　23. Those against oil drilling in ANWR argue that ________.

　　A) it can cause serious damage to the environment

　　B) it can do little to solve U.S. energy problems

　　C) it will drain the oil reserves in the Alaskan region

　　D) it will not have much commercial value

　　24. What do the environmentalists mean by saying “Not so fast” (Line 1, Para. 3)?

　　A) Oil exploitation takes a long time

　　B) The oil drilling should be delayed

　　C) Dont be too optimistic

　　D) Dont expect fast returns

　　25. It can be learned from the passage that oil exploitation beneath ANWRs frozen earth ________.

　　A) remains a controversial issue

　　B) is expected to get under way soon

　　C) involves a lot of technological problems

　　D) will enable the U.S. to be oil independent

　　Passage Two

　　Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.

　　“Tear ‘em apart!” “Kill the fool!” “Murder the referee (裁判)!”

　　These are common remarks one may hear at various sporting events. At the time they are made, they may seem innocent enough. But lets not kid ourselves. They have been known to influence behavior in such a way as to lead to real bloodshed. Volumes have been written about the way words affect us. It has been shown that words having certain connotations (含义) may cause us to react in ways quite foreign to what we consider to be our usual humanistic behavior. I see the term “opponent” as one of those words. Perhaps the time has come to it from sports terms.

　　The dictionary meaning of the term “opponent “is “adversary “: “enemy “; “one who opposes your interests.” “Thus, when a player meets an opponent, he or she may tend to treat that opponent as an enemy. At such times, winning may dominate ones intellect, and every action, no matter how gross, may be considered justifiable. I recall an incident in a handball game when a referee refused a players request for a time out for a glove change

　　because he did not considered then wet enough. The player proceeded to rub his gloves across his wet T-shirt and then exclaimed. “Are they wet enough now?”

　　In the heat of battle, players have been observed to throw themselves across the court without considering the consequences that such a move might have on anyone in their way. I have also witnessed a player reacting to his opponents international and illegal blocking by deliberately hitting him with the ball as hard as he could during the course of play. Off the court, they are good friends. Does that make any sense? It certainly gives proof of a court attitude which departs from normal behavior.

　　Therefore, I believe it is time we elevated (提升) the game to the level where it belongs thereby setting an example to the rest of the sporting world. Replacing the term “opponent” with “associate” could be an ideal way to start.

　　The dictionary meaning of the term “associate” is “colleague”; “friend”; “companion.” Reflect a moment! You may soon see and possibly feel the difference in your reaction to the term “associate” rather than “opponent.”

　　26. Which of the following statements best expresses the authors view?

　　A) Aggressive behavior in sports can have serious consequences.

　　B) The words people use can influence their behavior.

　　C) Unpleasant words in sports are often used by foreign athletes.

　　D) Unfair judgments by referees will lead to violence on the sports field.

　　27. Harsh words are spoken during games because the players ________.

　　A) are too eager to win

　　B) are usually short-tempered and easily offended

　　C) cannot afford to be polite in fierce competition

　　D) treat their rivals as enemies

　　28. What did the handball player do when he was not allowed a time out to change his gloves?

　　A) He refused to continue the game.

　　B) He angrily hit the referee with a ball.

　　C) He claimed that the referee was unfair.

　　D) He wet his gloves by rubbing them across his T-shirt.

　　29. According to the passage, players, in a game, may ________.

　　A) deliberately throw the ball at anyone illegally blocking their way

　　B) keep on screaming and shouting throughout the game

　　C) lie down on the ground as an act of protest

　　D) kick the ball across the court with force

　　30. The author hopes to have the current situation in sports improved by ________.

　　A) calling on players to use clean language on the court

　　B) raising the referees sense of responsibility

　　C) changing the attitude of players on the sports field

　　D) regulating the relationship between players and referees

　　全国英语等级考试四级阅读练习题 4

　　Today ,as in every other day of the year ,more than 3000 U.S. adlescents will smoke their first cigarette on their way to becoming regular smokers as adults. During their lifetime,it can be expected that of these 3000 about 23 will be murdered,30 will die in traffic accidents, and nearly 750 will be killed by a smoking-related disease. The number of deaths attributed to cigarette smoking outweithts all other factors, whether voluntary or involuntary, as a cause of death.

　　Since the late 1970s, when daily smoking among high school seniors reached 30 precent , smoking rates among youth have declined . While the decline is impressive ,several important issues must be raised.

　　First, in the past several years,smoking rates among youth have declined very little. Second,in the late 1970s ,smoking among male high school seniors exceeded that among female by nearly 10 percent . The statistic is reversing.Third ,several recent studies have indicate high school dropouts have excessively high smoking rates, as much as 75 percent .

　　Finally, thouth significant declines in adolescent smoking have occurred in the past decade,no definite reasons for the decline exist. Within this context,the Naional Cancer Instiute (NCI) began its current effort to determine the most effecive measures to reduce smoking levesl among youth.

　　1.According to the author, the deaths among youth are mainly caused by _____.

　　a.traffic accidents

　　b.smoking-related desease

　　c.murder

　　d.all of these

　　2.Every day there are over_____high school strdents who will become regular smoker.

　　a.75 b.23 c.30 d.3000

　　3.By "dropout" the author means______.

　　a.students who failed the examination

　　b.students who left school

　　c.students who lost their way

　　d.students who were driven out of school

　　4.The reason for declining adolescent smoking is that ________.

　　a.NCI has taken effective measures

　　b.smoking is prevented among high school seniors

　　c.there are many smokers who have died of cancer

　　d.none of these

　　5.What is implied but not stated by the author is that ________.

　　a.smoking rates among youth have declined very little

　　b.there are now more female than male smokers among high school seniors

　　c.high smoking rates are due to the incease in wealth

　　d.smoking at high school are from low socio-economic backgrounds

　　答案：bdbdb

　　全国英语等级考试四级阅读练习题 5

　　Part II Reading Comprehension

　　(35 minutes)

　　Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. 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 Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.

　　Passage One

　　Questions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.

　　Ive been writing for most of my life. The book Writing Without Teachers introduced me to one distinction and one practice that has helped my writing processes tremendously. The distinction is between the creative mind and the critical mind. While you need to employ both to get to a finished result, they cannot work in parallel no matter how much we might like to think so.

　　Trying to criticize writing on the fly is possibly the single greatest barrier to writing that most of us encounter. If you are listening to that 5th grade English teacher correct your grammar while you are trying to capture a fleeting (稍纵即逝的) thought, the thought will die. If you capture the fleeting thought and simply share it with the world in raw form, no one is likely to understand. You must learn to create first and then criticize if you want to make writing the tool for thinking that it is.

　　The practice that can help you past your learned bad habits of trying to edit as you write is what Elbow calls “free writing.” In free writing, the objective is to get words down on paper non-stop, usually for 15-20 minutes. No stopping, no going back, no criticizing. The goal is to get the words flowing. As the words begin to flow, the ideas will come from the shadows and let themselves be captured on your notepad or your screen.

　　Now you have raw materials that you can begin to work with using the critical mind that youve persuaded to sit on the side and watch quietly. Most likely, you will believe that this will take more time than you actually have and you will end up staring blankly at the pages as the deadline draws near.

　　Instead of staring at a blank start filling it with words no matter how bad. Halfway through you available time, stop and rework your raw writing into something closer to finished product. Move back and forth until you run out of time and the final result will most likely be far better than your current practices.

　　57. When the author says the creative mind and the critical mind “cannot work in parallel” (Line 4, Para. 1) in the writing process, he means ________.

　　A) no one can be both creative and critical

　　B) they cannot be regarded as equally important

　　C) they are in constant conflict with each other

　　D) one cannot use them at the same time

　　58. What prevents people from writing on is ________.

　　A) putting their ideas in raw form

　　B) attempting to edit as they write

　　C) ignoring grammatical soundness

　　D) trying to capture fleeting thoughts

　　59. What is the chief objective of the first stage of writing?

　　A) To organize ones thoughts logically.

　　B) To choose an appropriate topic.

　　C) To get ones ideas down.

　　D) To collect raw materials.

　　60. One common concern of writers about “free writing” is that ________.

　　A) it overstresses the role of the creative mind

　　B) it takes too much time to edit afterwards

　　C) it may bring about too much criticism

　　D) it does not help them to think clearly

　　61. In what way does the critical mind help the writer in the writing process?

　　A) It refines his writing into better shape.

　　B) It helps him to come up with new ideas.

　　C) It saves the writing time available to him.

　　D) It allows him to sit on the side and observe.

　　全国英语等级考试四级阅读练习题 6

　　Part II Reading Comprehension

　　(35 minutes)

　　Passage One

　　Questions 11 to 15 are based on the following passage.

　　People living on parts of the south coast of England face a serious problem. In 1993, the owners of a large hotel and of several houses discovered, to their horror, that their gardens had disappeared overnight. The sea had eaten into the soft limestone cliffs on which they had been built. While experts were studying the problem, the hotel and several houses disappeared altogether, sliding down the cliff and into the sea.

　　Erosion (侵蚀) of the white cliffs along the south coast of England has always been a problem but it has become more serious in recent years. Dozens of homes have had to be abandoned as the sea has crept farther and farther inland. Experts have studied the areas most affected and have drawn up a map for local people, forecasting the year in which their homes will be swallowed up by the hungry sea.

　　Angry owners have called on the Government to erect sea defenses to protect their homes. Government surveyors have pointed out that in most cases, this is impossible. New sea walls would cost hundreds of millions of pounds and would merely make the waves and currents go further along the coast, shifting the problem from one area to another. The danger is likely to continue, they say, until the waves reach an inland area of hard rock which will not be eaten as limestone is. Meanwhile, if you want to buy a cheap house with an uncertain future, apply to a house agent in one of the threatened areas on the south coast of England. You can get a house for a knockdown price but it may turn out to be a knockdown home.

　　11. What is the cause of the problem that people living on parts of the south coast of England face?

　　A) The disappearance of hotels, houses and gardens.

　　B) The experts lack of knowledge.

　　C) The rising of the sea level.

　　D) The washing-away of limestone cliffs.

　　12. The erosion of the white cliffs in the south of England ________.

　　A) will soon become a problem for people living in central England

　　B) has now become a threat to the local residents

　　C) is quickly changing the map of England

　　D) can be stopped if proper measures are taken

　　13. The experts study on the problem of erosion can ________.

　　A) lead to its eventual solution

　　B) provide an effective way to slow it down

　　C) help to prevent it from worsening

　　D) warn people whose homes are in danger

　　14. It is not feasible to build sea defenses to protect against erosion because ________.

　　A) it is too costly and will endanger neighbouring areas

　　B) the government is too slow in taking action

　　C) they will be easily knocked down by waves and currents

　　D) house agents along the coast do not support the idea

　　15. According to the author, when buying a house along the south coast of England, people should ________.

　　A) be aware of the potential danger involved

　　B) guard against being cheated by the house agent

　　C) take the quality of the house into consideration

　　D) examine the house carefully before making a decision

　　Passage Two

　　Questions 16 to 20 are based on the following passage.

　　Sport is not only physically challenging, but it can also be mentally challenging. Criticism from coaches, parents, and other teammates, as well as pressure to win can create an excessive amount of anxiety or stress for young athletes (运动员). Stress can be physical, emotional, or psychological, and research has indicated that it can lead to burnout. Burnout has been described as dropping or quitting of an activity that was at one time enjoyable.

　　The early years of development are critical years for learning abut oneself. The sport setting is one where valuable experiences can take place. Young athletes can, for example, learn how to cooperate with others, make friends, and gain other social skills that will be used throughout their lives. Coaches and parents should be aware, at all times, that their feedback to youngsters can greatly affect their children. Youngsters may take their parents and coaches criticisms to heart and find a flaw (缺陷) in themselves.

　　Coaches and parents should also be cautious that youth sport participation does not become work for children. The outcome of the game should not be more important than the process of learning the sport and other life lessons. In todays youth sport setting, young athletes may be worrying more about who will win instead of enjoying themselves and the sport. Following a game, many parents and coaches focus on the outcome and find fault with youngsters performances. Positive reinforcement should be provided regardless of the outcome. Research indicates that positive reinforcement motivates and has a greater effect

　　on learning than criticism. Again, criticism can create high levels of stress, which can lead to burnout.

　　16. An effective way to prevent the burnout of young athletes is ________.

　　A) to make sports less competitive

　　B) to make sports more challenging

　　C) to reduce their mental stress

　　D) to increase their sense of success

　　17. According to the passage sport is positive for young people in that ________.

　　A) it can help them learn more about society

　　B) it teaches them how to set realistic goals for themselves

　　C) it enables them to find flaws in themselves

　　D) it can provide them with valuable experiences

　　18. Many coaches and parents are in the habit of criticizing young athletes ________.