大学英语四级考前练习试题
Passage One
Questions 56 to 60 are based on the following passage.
If you think a high-factor sunscreen (防晒霜) keeps you safe from harmful rays, you may be wrong. Research in this week's Nature shows that while factor 50 reduces the number of melanomas (黑瘤) and delays their occurrence, it can't prevent them. Melanomas are the most aggressive skin cancers. You have a higher risk if you have red or blond hair, fair skin, blue or green eyes, or sunburn easily, or if a close relative has had one. Melanomas are more common if you have periodic intense exposure to the sun. Other skin cancers are increasingly likely with long-term exposure.
There is continuing debate as to how effective sunscreen is in reducing melanomas-the evidence is weaker than it is for preventing other types of skin cancer. A 2011 Australian study of 1,621 people found that people randomly selected to apply sunscreen daily had half the rate of melanomas of people who used cream as needed. A second study, comparing 1,167 people with melanomas to 1,101 who didn't have the cancer, found that using sunscreen routinely, alongside other protection such as hats, long sleeves or staying in the shade, did give some protection. This study said other forms of sun protection-not sunscreen-seemed most beneficial. The study relied on people remembering what they had done over each decade of their lives, so it's not entirely reliable. But it seems reasonable to think sunscreen gives people a false sense of security in the sun.
Many people also don't use sunscreen properly-applying insufficient amounts, failing to reapply after a couple of hours and staying in the sun too long. It is sunburn that is most worrying-recent research shows five episodes of sunburn in the teenage years increases the risk of all skin cancers.
The good news is that a combination of sunscreen and covering up can reduce melanoma rates, as shown by Australian figures from their slip-slop-slap campaign. So if there is a heat wave this summer, it would be best for us, too, to slip on a shirt, slop on (抹上) sunscreen and slap on a hat.
56. What is people's common expectation of a high-factor sunscreen?
A) It will delay the occurrence of skin cancer.
B) It will protect them from sunburn.
C) It will keep their skin smooth and fair.
D) It will work for people of any skin color.
57. What does the research in Nature say about a high-factor sunscreen?
A) It is ineffective in preventing melanomas.
B) It is ineffective in case of intense sunlight.
C) It is ineffective with long-term exposure.
D) It is ineffective for people with fair skin.
58. What do we learn from the 2011 Australian study of 1,621 people?
A) Sunscreen should be applied alongside other protection measures.
B) High-risk people benefit the most from the application of sunscreen.
C) Irregular application of sunscreen does women more harm than good.
D) Daily application of sunscreen helps reduce the incidence of melanomas.
59. What does the author say about the second Australian study?
A) It misleads people to rely on sunscreen for protection.
B) It helps people to select the most effective sunscreen.
C) It is not based on direct observation of the subjects.
D) It confirms the results of the first Australian study.
60. What does the author suggest to reduce melanoma rates?
A) Using both covering up and sunscreen.
B) Staying in the shade whenever possible.
C) Using covering up instead of sunscreen.
D) Applying the right amount of sunscreen.
Passage Two
Questions 61 to 65 are based on the following passage.
Across the rich world, well-educated people increasingly work longer than the less-skilled. Some 65% of American men aged 62 - 74 with a professional degree are in the workforce, compared with 32% of men with only a high-school certificate. This gap is part of a deepening divide between the well-educated well-off and the unskilled poor. Rapid technological advance has raised the incomes of the highly skilled while squeezing those of the unskilled. The consequences, for individuals and society, are profound.
The world is facing an astonishing rise in the number of old people, and they will live longer than ever before. Over the next 20 years the global population of those aged 65 or more will almost double, from 600 million to 1.1 billion. The experience of the 20th century, when greater longevity (长寿) translated into more years in retirement rather than more years at work, has persuaded many observers that this shift will lead to slower economic growth, while the swelling ranks of pensioners will create government budget problems.
But the notion of a sharp division between the working young and the idle old misses a new trend, the growing gap between the skilled and the unskilled. Employment rates are falling among younger unskilled people, whereas older skilled folk are working longer. The divide is most extreme in America, where well-educated baby-boomers (二战后生育高峰期出生的美国人) are putting off retirement while many less-skilled younger people have dropped out of the workforce.
Policy is partly responsible. Many European governments have abandoned policies that used to encourage people to retire early. Rising life expectancy (预期寿命), combined with the replacement of generous defined-benefit pension plans with less generous defined-contribution ones, means that even the better-off must work longer to have a comfortable retirement. But the changing nature of work also plays a big role. Pay has risen sharply for the highly educated, and those people continue to reap rich rewards into old age because these days the educated elderly are more productive than the preceding generation. Technological change may well reinforce that shift: the skills that complement computers, from management knowhow to creativity, do not necessarily decline with age.
61. What is happening in the workforce in rich countries?
A) Younger people are replacing the elderly.
B) Well-educated people tend to work longer.
C) Unemployment rates are rising year after year.
D) People with no college degree do not easily find work.
62. What has helped deepen the divide between the well-off and the poor?
A) Longer life expectancies.
B) A rapid technological advance.
C) Profound changes in the workforce.
D) A growing number of the well-educated.
63. What do many observers predict in view of the experience of the 20th century?
A) Economic growth will slow down.
B) Government budgets will increase.
C) More people will try to pursue higher education.
D) There will be more competition cet4v.com.
64. What is the result of policy changes in European countries?
A) Unskilled workers may choose to retire early.
B) More people have to receive in-service training.
C) Even wealthy people must work longer to live comfortably in retirement.
D) People may be able to enjoy generous defined-benefits from pension plans.
65. What is characteristic of work in the 21st century?
A) Computers will do more complicated work.
B) More will be taken by the educated young.
C) Most jobs to be done will be the creative ones.
D) Skills are highly valued regardless of age.
在西方人心目中，和中国联系最为密切的`基本食物是大米。长期以来，大米在中国人的饮食中占据很重要的地位，以至于有谚语说“巧妇难为无米之炊”。中国南方大多种植水稻,人们通常以大米为主食;而华北大部分地区因为过于寒冷或过于干燥，无法种植水稻，那里的主要作物是小麦。在中国，有些人用面粉做面包，但大多数人用面粉做馒头和面条。
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
【参考答案】
In the eyes of the western people, the basic food that is mostly related to China is rice. For a long time, rice has played a very important part in Chinese people's diet, so that there is a proverb that goes like this: Even a clever woman can't cook a good meal without rice. Rice is mainly grown in southern China where people usually take rice as the staple food. Since it is either too cold or too dry to grow rice in most areas of northern China, wheat is the main crop. In China, some people use flour to make bread, but for most people, it is used to make steamed buns and noodles.
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