2013年6月大学英语四级考试真题及答案

　　Part III Reading Comprehension (40 minutes)

　　Section A

　　Directions: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. You may not use any of the words in the banks more than once.

　　Questions 36 to 45 are based on the following passage.

　　Walking, if you do it vigorously enough, is the overall best exercise for regular physical activity. It requires no equipment, everyone knows how to do it and it carries the ___36___ risk of injury. The human body is designed to walk. You can walk in parks or along a river or in your neighborhood. To get ___37___ benefit from walking, aim for 45 minutes a day, an average of five days a week.

　　Strength training is another important ___38___ of physical activity. Its purpose is to build and ___39___ bone and muscle mass, both of which shrink with age. In general, you will want to do strength training two or three days a week, ___40___ recovery days between sessions.

　　Finally, flexibility and balance training are ___41___ important as the body ages. Aches and pains are high on the list of complaints in old age. The result of constant muscle tension and stiffness of joints, many of them are ___42___, and simple flexibility training can ___43___ these by making muscles stronger and keeping joints lubricated(润滑). Some of this you do whenever you stretch. If you watch dogs and cats, you’ll get an idea of how natural it is. The general ___44___ is simple: whenever the body has been in one position for a while, it is good to ___45___ stretch it in an opposite position.

　　A) allowing I) maintain

　　B) avoidable J) maximum

　　C) briefly K) prevent

　　D) component L) principle

　　E) determined M) provoke

　　F) helping N) seriously

　　G) increasingly O) topic

　　H) lowest

　　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.

　　Seven Steps to a More Fulfilling Job

　　A) Many people today find themselves in unfulfilling work situations. In fact, one in four workers is dissatisfied with their current job, according to the recent “Plans for 2004” survey. Their career path may be financially rewarding, but it doesn’t meet their emotional, social or creative needs. They’re stuck, unhappy, and have no idea what to do about it, except move to another job.

　　B) Mary Lyn Miller, veteran career consultant and founder of the Life and Career Clinic, says that when most people are unhappy about their work, their first thought is to get a different job. Instead, Miller suggests looking at the possibility of a different life. Through her book, 8 Myths of Making a Living, as well as workshops, seminars and personal coaching and consulting, she has helped thousands of dissatisfied workers reassess life and work.

　　C) Like the way of Zen, which includes understanding of oneself as one really is, Miller encourages job seekers and those dissatisfied work or life to examine their beliefs about work and recognize that “in many cases your beliefs are what brought you to where you are today.” You may have been raised to think that women were best at nurturing and caring and, therefore, should be teachers and nurses. So that’s what you did. Or, perhaps you were brought up to believe that you should do what your father did, so you have taken over the family business, or become a dentist “just like dad”. If this sounds familiar, it’s probably time to look at the new possibilities for your future.

　　D) Miller developed a 7-step process to help potential job seekers assess their current situation and beliefs, identify their real passion, and start on a journey that allows them to pursue their passion through work.

　　E) Step 1: Willingness to do something different. Breaking the cycle of doing what you have always done is one of the most difficult tasks for job seekers. Many find it difficult to steer(行驶) away from a career path or make a change, even if it doesn’t feel right. Miller urges job seekers to open their minds to other possibilities beyond what they are currently doing.

　　F) Step 2: Commitment to being who you are, not who or what someone wants you to be. Look at the gifts and talents you have and make a commitment to pursue those things that you love most. If you love the social aspects of your job, but are stuck inside an office or “chained to your desk” most of the time, vow to follow your instinct and investigate alternative careers and work that allow you more time to interact with others. Dawn worked as a manager for a large retail clothing store for several years. Though she had advanced within the company, she felt frustrated and longed to be involved with nature and the outdoors. She decided to go to school nights and weekends to pursue her true passion by earning her master’s degree in forestry(林业学). She now works in the biotech forestry division of a major paper company.

　　G) Step 3: Self-definition. Miller suggests that once job seekers know who they are, they need to know how to sell themselves. “In the job market, you are a product. And just like a product, you must know the features and benefits that you have to offer a potential client, or employer.” Examine the skills and knowledge that you have and identify how they can apply to your desired occupation. Your qualities will exhibit to employers why they should hire you over other candidates.

　　H) Step 4: Attain a level of self-honoring. Self-honoring or self-love may seem like an odd step for job hunters, but being able to accept yourself, without judgment, helps eliminate insecurities and will make you more self-assured. By accepting who you are—all your emotions, hopes and dreams, your personality, and your unique way of being—you’ll project more confidence when networking(沟通) and talking with potential employers. The power of self-honoring can help to break all the falsehoods you were programmed to believe—those that made you feel that you were not good enough, or strong enough, or intelligent enough to do what you truly desire.

　　I) Step 5: Vision. Miller suggests that job seekers develop a vision that embraces the answer to “What do I really want to do?” One should create a solid statement in a dozen or so sentences that describe in detail how they see their life related to work. For instance, the secretary who longs to be an actress describes a life that allows her to express her love of Shakespeare on stage. A real estate agent, attracted to his current job because he loves fixing up old homes, describes buying properties that need a little tender loving care to make them more saleable.

　　J) Step 6: Appropriate risk. Some philosophers believe that the way to enlightenment(启迪) comes through facing obstacles and difficulties. Once people discover their passion, many are too scared to do anything about it. Instead, they do nothing. With this step, job seekers should assess what they are willing to give up, or risk, in pursuit of their dream. For one working mom, that meant taking night classes to learn new computer-aided design skills, while still earning a salary and keeping her day job. For someone else, it may mean quitting his or her job, taking out a loan and going back to school full time. You’ll move one step closer to your ideal work life if you identify how much risk you are willing to take and the sacrifices you are willing to make.

　　K) Step 7: Action. Some teachers of philosophy describe action in this way, “If one wants to get to the top of a mountain, just sitting at the foot thinking about it will not bring one there. It is by making the effort of climbing up the mountain, step by step, that eventually the summit is reached.” All too often, it is the lack of action that ultimately holds people back from attaining their ideals. Creating a plan and taking it one step at a time can lead to new and different job opportunities. Job-hunting tasks gain added meaning as you sense their importance in your quest for a more meaningful work life. The plan can include researching industries and occupations, talking to people who are in your desired area of work, taking classes, or accepting volunteer work in your targeted field.

　　46. Mary Lyn Miller suggests that job hunters imagine how they could answer the question “What do I really want to do?”

　　47. Many people find it difficult to make up their minds to change their career path, even if it doesn’t feel good now.

　　48. Mary Lyn Miller is an experienced consultant whose job is to advise people on their life and career.

　　49. People should know their gifts and talents and commit themselves to the pursuit of those things that they love most.

　　50. During an interview with potential employers, self-honoring may help a job seeker to show more confidence.

　　51. The job seeker should examine skills and knowledge that he has, and know how they can be used in the ideal job.

　　52. What ultimately prevents people from attaining their own ideals is the lack of action.

　　53. Miller suggests that after knowing themselves, job seekers need to know how to sell themselves.

　　54. Though they have discovered their passion, many people are so frightened of obstacles and difficulties that they can’t pursue their dreams.

　　55. People may have been taught to believe that they should follow in their fathers’ footsteps, so they have taken over the family business.

　　Section C

　　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 56 to 60 are based on the following passage.

　　Junk food is everywhere. We’re eating way too much of it. Most of us know what we’re doing and yet we do it anyway.

　　So here’s a suggestion offered by two researchers at the Rand Corporation: Why not take a lesson from alcohol control policies and apply them to where food is sold and how it’s displayed?

　　“Many policy measures to control obesity (肥胖症) assume that people consciously and rationally choose what and how much they eat and therefore focus on providing information and more access to healthier foods,” note the two researchers.

　　“In contrast,” the researchers continue, “many regulations that don’t assume people make rational choices have been successfully applied to control alcohol, a substance—like food—of which immoderate consumption leads to serious health problems.”

　　The research references studies of people’s behavior with food and alcohol and results of alcohol restrictions, and then lists five regulations that the researchers think might be promising if applied to junk foods. Among them:

　　Density restrictions: licenses to sell alcohol aren’t handed out unplanned to all comers but are allotted (分配) based on the number of places in an area that already sell alcohol. These make alcohol less easy to get and reduce the number of psychological cues to drink.

　　Similarly, the researchers say, being presented with junk food stimulates our desire to eat it. So why not limit the density of food outlets, particularly ones that sell food rich in empty calories? And why not limit sale of food in places that aren’t primarily food stores?

　　Display and sales restrictions: California has a rule prohibiting alcohol displays near the cash registers in gas stations, and in most places you can’t buy alcohol at drive-through facilities. At supermarkets, food companies pay to have their wares in places where they’re easily seen. One could remove junk food to the back of the store and ban them from the shelves at checkout lines. The other measures include restricting portion sizes, taxing and prohibiting special price deals for junk foods, and placing warning labels on the products.

　　56. What does the author say about junk food?

　　A) People should be educated not to eat too much.

　　B) It is widely consumed despite its ill reputation.

　　C) Its temptation is too strong for people to resist.

　　D) It causes more harm than is generally realized.

　　57. What do the Rand researchers think of many of the policy measures to control obesity?

　　A) They should be implemented effectively.

　　B) They provide misleading information.

　　C) They are based on wrong assumptions.

　　D) They help people make rational choices.

　　58. Why do policymakers of alcohol control place density restrictions?

　　A) Few people are able to resist alcohol’s temptations.

　　B) There are already too many stores selling alcohol.

　　C) Drinking strong alcohol can cause social problems.

　　D) Easy access leads to customers’ over-consumption.

　　59. What is the purpose of California’s rule about alcohol display in gas stations?

　　A) To effectively limit the density of alcohol outlets.

　　B) To help drivers to give up the habit of drinking.

　　C) To prevent possible traffic jams in nearby areas.

　　D) To get alcohol out of drivers’ immediate sight.

　　60. What is the general guideline the Rand researchers suggest about junk food control?

　　A) Guiding people to make rational choices about food.

　　B) Enhancing people’s awareness of their own health.

　　C) Borrowing ideas from alcohol control measures.

　　D) Resorting to economic, legal and psychological means.