2013年12月英语四级阅读真题及答案(卷三)

Section B

Directions： In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it. Each statement contains information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraph from which the information is derived. You may choose a paragraph more than once. Each paragraph is marked with a letter. Answer the questions by marking the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2.

A Mess on the Ladder of Success

A) Throughout American history there has almost always been at least one central economic narrative that gave the ambitious or unsatisfied reason to pack up and seek their fortune elsewhere. For the first 300 or so years of European settlement, the story was about moving outward： getting immigrants to the continent and then to the frontier to clear the prairies (大草原），drain the wetlands and build new cities.

B) By the end of the 19th century, as the frontier vanished, the US had a mild panic attack. What would this energetic, enterprising country be without new lands to conquer? Some people, such as Teddy Roosevelt, decided to keep on conquering (Cuba, the Philippines, etc.), but eventually, in industrialization, the US found a new narrative of economic mobility at home. From the 1890s to the 1960s, people moved from farm to city, first in the North and then in the South. In fact, by the 1950s, there was enough prosperity and white-collar work that many began to move to the suburbs. As the population aged, there was also a shift from the cold Rust Belt to the comforts of the Sun Belt. We think of this as an old person's migration, but it created many jobs for the young in construction and health care, not to mention tourism, retail and restaurants.

C) For the last 20 years--- from the end of the cold war through two burst bubbles in a single decade----the US has been casting about for its next economic narrative. And now it is experiencing another period of panic, which is bad news for much of the workforce but particularly for its youngest members.

D) The US has always been a remarkably mobile country, but new data from the Census Bureau indicate that mobility has reached its lowest level in recorded history. Sure, some people are stuck in homes valued at less than their mortgages (抵押货款），but many young people—who don’t own homes and don’t yet have families-are staying put, too. This suggests, among other things, that people aren't packing up for new economic opportunities the way they used to. Rather than dividing the country into the 1 presenters versus (与……相对）everyone else, the split in our economy is really between two other classes： the mobile and immobile.

E) Part of the problem is that the country's largest industries are in decline. In the past, it was perfectly clear where young people should go for work (Chicago in the 1870s, Detroit in the 1910s, Houston in the 1970s) and, more or less, what they’d be doing when they got there (killing cattle, building cars, selling oil). And these industries were large enough to offer jobs to each class of worker, from unskilled laborer to manager or engineer. Today, the few bright spots in our economy are relatively small (though some promise future growth) and decentralized. There are great jobs in Silicon Valley, in the biotech research capitals of Boston and Raleigh-Durham and in advanced manufacturing plants along the southern z-85 corridor. These companies recruit all over the country and the globe for workers with specific abilities. (You don't need to be the next Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, to get a job in one of the microhubs (微中心），by the way. But you will almost certainly need at least a B. A. in computer science or a year or two at a technical school.) This newer, select job market is national, and it offers members of the mobile class competitive salaries and higher bargaining power.

F) Many members of the immobile class, on the other hand, live in the America of the gloomy headlines. If you have no specialized skills, there’s little reason to uproot to another state and be the last in line for a low-paying job at a new auto plant or a green-energy startup. The surprise in the census （普查） data, however, is that the immobile workforce is not limited to unskilled workers. In fact, many have a college degree.

G) Until now, a B. A. in any subject was a near-guarantee of at least middle-class wages. But today, a quarter of college graduates make less than the typical worker without a bachelor's degree. David Autor, a prominent labor economist at M. I. T. , recently told me that a college degree alone is no longer a guarantor of a good job. While graduates from top universities are still likely to get a good job no matter what their major is, he said, graduates from less-famous schools are going to be judged on what they know. To compete for jobs on a national level, they should be armed with the skills that emerging industries need, whether technical or not.

H) Those without such specialized skills—like poetry, or even history, majors一are already competing with their neighbors for the same sorts of second-rate, poorer-paying local jobs like low-level management or big-box retail sales. And with the low-skilled labor market atomized into thousands of microeconomics, immobile workers are less able to demand better wages or conditions or to acquire valuable skills.

I) So what, exactly, should the ambitious young worker of today be learning? Unfortunately, it’s hard to say, since the US doesn't have one clear national project. There are plenty of emerging, smaller industries, but which ones are the most promising? (Nanotechnology's (纳米技木）moment of remarkable growth seems to have been 5 years into the future for something like 20 years now.) It’s not clear exactly what skills are most needed or if they will even be valuable in a decade.

J) What is clear is that all sorts of government issues -education, health-insurance portability, worker retraining—arc no longer just bonuses to already prosperous lives but existential requirements. It's in all of our interests to make sure that as many people as possible are able to move toward opportunity, and America's ability to invest people and money in exciting new ideas is still greater than that of most other wealthy countries. (As recently as five years ago, US migration was twice the rate of European Union states.) That, at least, is some comfort at a time when our national economy seems to be searching for its next story line.

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

46. Unlike in the past, a college degree alone does not guarantee a good job for its holder.

47. The census data is surprising in that college graduates are also among the immobile workforce.

48. New figures released by the government show that Americans today are less mobile than ever before.

49. The migration of old people from cold to warm places made many jobs available to the young.

50. America is better at innovation than most other rich nations.

51. Early American history is one of moving outward.

52. Young people don't know what lo learn because it is hard to predict what skills are most needed or valued ten years from now.

53. Computer or other technical skills are needed to get a well-paying job in high-tech or advanced manufacturing.

54. When the frontier vanished about a century ago, America found new economic mobility in industrialization.

55. America today can be divided into two classes： those who move and those who don’t.

Section B

参考译文

向成功攀登过程中的困境

A) 纵观美国历史,几乎在每一个时期里总是至少有一个核心的经济神话,给出种种让人雄心勃勃或永 不满足的理由，叫人愿意收拾行囊.到别处去追求成功。(51)欧洲人在美国定居的前300多年,这种故事始終是有关人口向外扩张的一让欧洲的移民到美洲大陆去.然后再去边疆开辟大草原.排干湿地的水，建立新的城市。

B) (54)然而到了19世纪末,随着边疆的消失，突国人开始感到些许的恐慌。如果再没有新的土地可以征服，这个精力充沛、富有进取精神的国家将会怎样？ (54)有一些人，比如Teddy Roosevdt,决定继续这项征服事业(如古巴、菲律宾等地）,但最终在工业化的进程中,美国在其同内发现新的经济流动的神话。从19世纪90年代到 20世纪60年代,人们从农场流向城市.这首先发生在北方,然后南方也紧跟其后。事实上,到了20世纪50年代,当城市已经足够繁荣时,不少的白领工作开 始向郊区 回流。(49)随着人口老龄化日益严重,人们也开始从寒冷的铁锈地带（五大湖周边的重工业衰退地 区）向舒适的阳光地带(弗吉尼亚州横贯至加利福尼亚州南部的日照充足地区)转移。我们一般认为 这是一种老年人的迁移.但实际上,它为年轻人创造了很多建筑和卫生保健方面的工作岗位,更不用 说这种迁移对迁人地的旅游、零售和餐饮的影响了。

C) 在过去20年里,从冷战结束,到之后十年所经历的两个经济泡沫的破灭,美国一直在寻找下一个经济神话。现在美国正在经历另一个恐慌时期,这对很多劳动人群而言是一个坏消息,特别是对最为 年轻的劳动人群而言,无异于是晴天霹雳。

D) (48)美国一直以来就是一个人口流动较为显著的国家,但是美同人口普查局的最新数据表明，当前 的人口流动性已经鉄到了历史最低水平。当然.有些人为住房所闲而不能流动，因为他们住的房子的售价低于抵押贷款,然而许多年轻人——他们连房子都没有,也没有家庭，也待在原地不愿流动。 另外一些事情也表明人们不再像从前那样为了赚钱的机会而收拾行囊远走他乡了。(55)美国人的 生活不再各式各样了,我们的经济分歧实际有另外两类:流动型和固定型。

E) 部分问题在于美同最大的产业在走下坡路。过去,年轻人很清楚应该去哪里工作（比如19世纪70 年代的芝加哥、20世纪初的底特律和20世纪70年代的休斯顿）,也或多或少知道他们到那后会做什 么(屠宰牛群、造汽车或是销售石油）。而且这些产业都规模庞大，足以向各个层次的劳动者提供工 作,从没有技术的劳动者到经理或者工程师。但是今天，如果说我们的经济还存在一些亮点的话， 也规模相对较小(尽管有些未来可能会有增长），分布相对分散。(53)这些好岗位分布在桂谷，波士顿和罗利一达勒姆的生物技术研究中心和南部"1-85走 廊"沿线的先进制造工厂里。这些公司在全国乃至全球范围内招募具有专业技能的工人。（当然,想在"微中心"的某个地方谋一份工作，你不 必成为下一个Facebook的创始人Mark Zuckerberg;,但至少得有计算机科学学士学位或者在技术 学校待过一两年。)这个新兴的择业市场是面向全国的,它为那些属于流动型的劳动者提供更具竞争 力的报酬和更高的议价权力。

F) 另一方面，固定型的许多人生活在美国的阴暗之中。如果你没有特殊的技能,就不会举家搬到其他 州，或是成为最没有希望在一家新开的汽车生产厂或一家绿色能源新兴公司谋得低薪职位的人选。 (47)然而,令人意想不到的是普查数据表明，此类"固定型劳动力"不仅仅局限于没有技术的工人。 事实上,他们中的很多人有大学学历。

G) 直到现在,取得任何一门学科的学士学位都至少能保证拥有一份中严阶级收入。但现如今，四分之一的大学毕业生比那些没有学士学位的工人赚得都要少。(46)最近麻省理工学院的知名劳动力经济学家David Autor告诉我说,现在的大学学历再也无法保证一份好的工作了。尽管那些来自顶尖名校的学生无论是学什么专业的,都会得到一份好的工作,但那些来自不知名学校的学生只能通过 自己所学的东西来接受用人单位的评判。为了竞争国家级别的工作,这些毕业生需要具备新兴产业 所需要的技能(无论这种技能是不是技术）。

H) 那些不具备特殊技能的毕业生，比如专业为诗歌或是历史类的毕业生,将会同他们身边的人竞争一份二等低薪的当地工作,如低级别的管理工作或是卖场销售工作。 由于低技能的劳动力市场被分割为数千个微型经济体固定型工人"就不太可能要求更高的薪水、更好的工作条件或者获取宝责的 技术。

I) 那么,雄心壮志的年轻工人在当下应该学些什么呢？不幸的是,这个问题很难回答，因为美国没有一个明确的国家级工程。美国有不少新兴的、规模较小的产业,但它们中的哪些才是最有前途的呢？ (现在看起来会有20年蓬勃发展期的纳米技术可能只会有5年的巅峰）。(52)我们不知道现在社会 最需要什么样的技术,或者是在未来十年里,这些技术是否还会有用。

J)我们所明白的就是所有政府要考虑的问题,如教育、携带式健康险、工人的再度培训,再也不仅仅是 富人的福利,而是确实存在的需要。对我们所有人都有利的是保证有尽可能多的人可以获得机会， (50)并且同其他大多数富裕国家相比,美国在创新上投人人力和财力的能力仍然要强很多。(五年 之前,美国的移民率还是欧盟国家的两倍）。至少,在我们的国民经济在寻求下一个发展方向的时 候,我们还会有些许安慰。

46. 【定位】由题干中的does not guarantee a good job 定位到G)段第三句。

G)【精析】细节辨认题。定位句提到,麻省理工学院 的知名劳动力经济学家David Autor说,仅仅一个大学学历再也无法保证一份好工作了。文章接着指出,那些来自顶尖名校的学生不管他们学的 是什么专业仍有可能获得一份好工作,但那些来 自不知名学校的学生只能通过自己所学的东西来 接受用人单位的评判。题干中的does not guarantee a good job 对应原文中的 no longer a guarantor of a good job，故答案为 G)。

47. 【定位】由题干中的 The census data is surprising 和immobile workforce定位到F)段最后两句。

F)【精析】细节归纳题。定位句指出，令人意想不到的是,普查数据表明，固定型劳动力不仅仅局限于 没有技术的工人,事实上,他们中的很多人还有大学学历,故答案为F)。

48. 【定位】由题干中的less mobile than ever before 定位到D)段第一句。

D) 【精析】细节推断题。定位句提到,美国是一个人 口流动较为显著的国家,但是美国人口普查局的 最新数据表明，当前的人口流动性已经跌到了历史最低水平。题干中的less mobile than ever before 对应原文中的 its lowest level in recorded history,故答案为D)。

49. 【定位】由题干中的old people from cold to warm places定位到B)段最后两句。

B) 【精析】细节辨认题。定位句提到，随着人口老龄 化日益严重,人们也开始从寒冷的铁锈地带向舒适的阳光地带转移。这种迁移实际上为年轻人创 造了很多建筑和卫生保健方面的工作岗位。题干中的 old people from cold to warm places 对应原 文中的 a shift from the cold Rust Belt to the comforts of the Sun Belt,故答案为 B)。

50. 【定位】由题干中的better at innovation定位到J) 段第二句后半句。

J)【精析】定位句提到，同其他富裕国家相比,美国在 创新上投人人力和财力的能力要强很多。题干中 的 innovation, most other rich nations 对应原文中的 new ideas, most other wealthy countries,故 答案为J)。

51. 【定位】由题干中的moving outward定位到A)段 第二句。

A) 【精析】细节辨认题。定位句提到，欧洲人在美国 定居的前300多年是人口向外扩张的时期：让欧洲的移民到美洲大陆去,然后再到边疆开辟大草 原，排干湿地的水，建立新城市。题干中的 moving outward 与原文中的 moving outward 完全吻合,故答案为A)。

52. 【定位】由题干中的what skills are most needed or valued定位到I)段末句。

I) 【精析】细节辨认题。定位句提到，我们不知道现 在最需要哪些技术,或者是在未来十年里,这些技术是否还会有用。题干是对原文的同义转述,故答案为I)。

53. 【定位】由题干中的 computer, advanced manufacturing 定位到E)段第五至八句。

E)【精析】细节推断题。定位句提到了高薪工作分布的地区,如硅谷,波士顿和罗利一达勒姆的生物技术研究中心以及"1-85走廊"沿线的先进制造工 厂里。想要在这些地方谋得一份工作,至少得有 计算机科学学士学位或在技术学校待过一两年。 题干中的 computer or other technical skills 对应原 文中的 a B. A. in computer science or a year or two at a technical school, 故答案为 E)。

54. 【定位】由题干中的the frontier vanished和new economic mobility定位到B)段首句和第三句。

B)【精析】细节辨认题。定位句提到，到19世纪末，随着美国边疆地区的消失，美国开始感到些许的恐慌。但最终在工业化进程中，美国在国内发现 了新的经济流动神话。题干中的new economic mobility 对应原文中的 new narrative of economic mobility,故答案为 B)。

55. 【定位】由题干中的two classes定位到D)段末句。

D)【精析】细节推断题。定位句提到，我们的经济分歧实际有另外两类:流动型和固定型。题干中的 those who move and those who don't 对应原文中 的 the mobile and immobile,故答案为 D)。