2014年12月英语四级冲刺全真模拟试题四

　　Section III Reading Comprehension (60 minutes)

　　Part A

　　根据以下资料，回答41-60题：

　　Nowadays，our society is being reshaped by information technologies--computers，telecommunications networks，and other digital systems.Of course，our society has gone through other periods of dramatic change before，driven by such innovations as the steam engine，railroad，telephone，and automobile.But never before have we experienced technologies that are evolving so rapidly，altering the constraints of time and space，and reshaping the way we communicate，learn，and think.

　　The rapid development of digital technologies creates not only more opportunities for the society but challenges to it as well.Institutions of every stripe are grappling to respond by adapting their strategies and activities.It is no exaggeration to say that information technology is completely changing the relationship between people and knowledge. But ironically，at the most knowledge-based entities--the colleges and universities--the pace of transformation has been relatively modest.Although research has been transformed by information technology in many ways，and it is increasingly used for student and faculty communications，other higher-education functions have remained almost unchanged.For example，teaching largely　continues to follow a classroom-centered.seat-based paradigm.However，some major teaching experiments are emerging，and some factors suggest that digital technologies may eventually drive significant change throughout academia.

　　American academia has undergone significant change before.The establishment of secular education began during the l8th century and the Land-Grant College Act of l862 resulted in another transformation.That Act created institutions serving agriculture and industries;Academia was no longer just for the wealthy but charged with providing educational opportunities to the working class as well.Around the year of l900，the introduction of graduate education began to expand the role of the university in training students for careers both scholarly and professional.

　　Higher education has already experienced significant technology based change，even if it currently lags other sectors in some areas.We expect that the new technology will eventually impose a profound impact on university's teaching by freeing the classroom from its physical and temporal bounds and by providing students with access to original source materials and that new learning communities driven by information technology will allow universities to better teach students how to be critical analyzers and consumers of information.

　　The information society has greatly expanded the need for university level education;lifelong learning is not only a private good for those who pursue it but also a social good in terms of our nation's ability to maintain a vibrant democracy and support a competitive workforce.

　　41、Which of the followings does not belong to information technologies?

　　A.Laptop

　　B.Telephone

　　C.Telecommunication networks.

　　D.Digital systems.

　　42、 Many institutions adjust their strategies and activities in order to________.

　　A.make money

　　B.change the relationship between people and knowledge

　　C.take advantage of the opportunities provided by digital technologies

　　D.adapt to the development of digital technologies

　　43、 The phrase"higher-education functions"(Line 4，Paragraph 3)probably means________.

　　A.increasing students'ability

　　B.broaden students'horizons

　　C.enriching students'knowledge

　　D.the way of teaching

　　44、 The transformation resulted from the Land-Grant College Act of l862 was________.

　　A.the popularization of education

　　B.the establishment of secular education

　　C.the introduction of graduate education

　　D.the appearance of a competitive workforce

　　45、 Information technology will have an impact on the following aspects except________.

　　A.freeing the constraints of time and space on classroom

　　B.the chance students have to read original source materials

　　C.the way of communication

　　D.training students for professional career

　　根据以下资料，回答46-65题：

　　Now the politics of US health reform is in a mess but the odds on a bill passing in the end are improving.It will not be a tidy thin9，but if it moves the country close to universal health insurance the administration will call it a success.

　　At this moment，that point of view may seem too optimistic.Last Friday，the Democratic leadership in the House of Representatives had hoped to produce a finished bill.But they failed，because the party's fiscal conservatives demanded further savings.House Democrats are also divided on revenue raising measures.

　　The Senate is dealing with the same problems：how to contain the cost of expanded insurance coverage，and how to pay for what remains，SO that the reform adds nothing to the budget deficit over the course of lo years.

　　Where the money comes from remains the crucial problem.Apparently，the answer is straight-forward：tax employer-provided health benefits.At present，an employer in the U.S.is free from paying tax if he pays the health insurance while an individual purchaser has to buy it with after-tax dollars.This anomaly costs nearly$250bn a year in revenue--enough to pay for universal cover-age.and then some.Yet many Democrats in both the House and the Senate oppose to ending it.Will there be a breakthrough in terms of that aspect?

　　However, to get employers out of health insurance should be an aim，not something to be feared.Many US workers have complained that if they lose their job，their health insurance will go with it and tying insurance to employment will undoubtedly worsen the insecurity.

　　What about high.risk workers who are thrown on to the individual market? If the tax break were abolished as part of a larger reform which obliges insurers to offer affordable coverage to all people regardless of pre-existing conditions.it will not be a problem.It's true this change needs to increase tax，and many people in Congress are reluctant to contemplate in any form.But some kind of increase is inescapable.This one makes more sense than most.

　　The President should say so.His Republican opponent John McCain called for this change during the election campaign and Mr Obama and other Democrats assailed the idea.So what? Mr.Obama has changed his ideas on other aspects of health reform.For example，it seems that he now prefers an individual mandate to buy insurance。Let US see a similar flexibility on taxing employer-provided insurance.

　　46、According to the author，__________.

　　A.the politics of U.S.health reform is a total failure

　　B.there is no possibility of passing a bill

　　C.it's difficult to pass a bill

　　D.U.S.will achieve universal health insurance

　　47、 In the author's opinion.which of the following is "revenue-raising measures"?

　　A.Tax employer-provided health benefits.

　　B.Tax individual-purchased health insurance.

　　C.Ending taxing employer-provided health benefits.

　　D.Ending taxing individual-purchased health insurance.

　　48、 Why did the author say that to get employers out of health insurance should be an aim?

　　A.Because employers evaded paying taxes.

　　B.Because tying insurance to employment was bad to workers.

　　C.Because it's illegal for employers to provide health insurance.

　　D.Because the administration needed to raise revenue.

　　49、 What does the author feel about President's preference to an individual's buying insurance?

　　A.Going back on his word.

　　B.Stubborn.

　　C.Flexible.

　　D.Short-sighted.

　　50、 What "change" did John McCain once called for during the election campaign?

　　A.Increasing tax.

　　B.Obliging insurers to offer affordable coverage to all people regardless of pre-existing conditions.

　　C.Insurance should be bought by individual instead of being provided by employers.

　　D.To get employers out of health insurance

　　根据以下资料，回答51-70题：

　　According to Peter Salovey，Yale psychologist and author of the term EQ，IQ gets you hired and EQ gets you promoted.

　　Salovey tells of a simple test.Some four.year-old kids were。invited into a room and were given the following instruction："You can have this marshmallow right now;or if you wait，you can have two marshmallows when I get back."Then，the researcher left.Some kids grabbed for me treat as soon as the researcher was out the door，while others waited for the researcher to return. By the time the kids reached high school，significant differences appeared between the two groups. The kids who held out for two marshmallows were better adjusted，more popular，more adventurous，more confident，and more dependable than kids in the quick gratification group.The latter group was also more likely to be lonely，more easily frustrated，more stubborn，more likely to buckle under stress，and more likely to shy away from challenges.When both groups took scholiastic aptitude tests.the"hold out group"walloped the "quick gratification group"by 210 points f the test scores range from a minimum of 200 points to a maximum of 800，with an average for all students of 500 points).

　　Researchers have been discussing whether it's possible to raise a person's IQ.Geneticists say No，while social scientists say Yes.But while brain power researchers continue the debate，social science re-searchers have concluded that it's possible to improve a person's EQ，and in particular，a person's"people skills,"such as empathy，graciousness，and the ability t0"read"a social situation.

　　According to the social scientists，there is little doubt that people without sufficient EQ will have a hard time surviving in life.EQ is perhaps best observed in people described as either pessimists or optimists.Optimistic people have high EQ and treat obstacles as minor，while the pessimistic people have low EQ and personalizes all setbacks.In social research circles，EQ denotes one's ability to survive.and it's here that there may be an overlap between EQ，IQ，genetics and environment.As to that.I am reminded of the words of Darwin，"The biggest，tlle smartest，and the strongest are not the survivors.Rather。Ⅱle survivors are the most adaptable."Those of us who survive and thrive in this complex world are not only the most adaptable，but also the most optimistic and the most likely to have a high EQ.

　　51、EQ gets you promoted，not because________.

　　A.a person with high EQ is better adjusted

　　B.a person with high EQ is more stubborn

　　C.a person with high EQ is more confident

　　D.A person with high EQ is more popular

　　52、 The word"walloped"(Line l0，Paragraph 2)most probably means"________"

　　A.hit

　　B.defeated

　　C.won

　　D.lost

　　53、 According to the social scientists，________.

　　A.pessimists have high EQ

　　B.optimists have low EQ

　　C.it's impossible to improve a person's EQ

　　D.a person having low EQ will have a hard time surviving in life

　　54、 In the view of social scientists，EQ is________.

　　A.one's ability to survive

　　B.empathy

　　C.graciousness

　　D.the ability to"read"a social situation

　　55、 From the text we can infer that________.

　　A.it's universally accepted that it is possible to improve one's IQ

　　B.there is nothing in common between IQ and EQ

　　C.a person with high EQ is willing to take risks

　　D.a person with low EQ is likely to sympathize with other people