2020年12月英语四级仔细阅读试题解析-第一套 Part C（新东方）

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　　Passage One

　　1. Boredom has, paradoxically, become quite interesting to academics lately. In early May, London’s Boring Conference celebrated seven years of delighting in dullness. At this event, people flocked to talks about weather, traffic jams and vending-machine sounds, among other sleep-inducing topics.

　　2. What, exactly, is everybody studying? One widely accepted definition of boredom is "the distasteful experience of wanting, but being unable. to engage in satisfying activity.” But how can you quantify a person's boredom level and compare it with someone else’s? In 1986, psychologists introduced the Boredom Proneness Scale, designed to measure an individual’s overall tendency to feel bored. By contrast, the Multidimensional State Boredom scale, developed in 2008, measures a person's felings of boredom in a given situation.

　　3. Boredom has been linked to behavior issues including inattentive driving, mindless snacking, excessive drinking, and addictive gambling. In fact, many of us would choose pain over boredom. One team of psychologists discovered that two-thirds of men and a quarter of women would rather self-administer electric shocks than sit alone with their thoughts for 15 minutes. Researching this phenomenon, another team asked volunteers to watch boring, sad, or neutar films, during which they could self-administer elecric shocks. The bored volunteers shocked themselves more and harder than the sad or neutral ones did.

　　4. But boredom isn't all bad. By encouraging self-reflection and daydreaming, it can spur activity. An early study gave participants abundant time to complete problem-solving and word-association exercises. Once all the obvious answers were exhausted, participants gave more and more incentive answers to combat boredom. A British study took these findings one step further, asking subjects to complete a creative challenge (coming up with a list of alternative uses for a household item). One group of subjects did a boring activity first, while the others went straight to the creative task. Those whose boredom pumps had been primed were more productive.

　　5. In our always-connected world, boredom may be a hard-to-define state, but it is a fertile one. Watch paint dry or water boil, or at least put away your smartphone for a while, and you might unlock your next big idea.

　　46. When are people likely to experience boredom, according to an accepted psychological definition?

　　A) When they don’t have the chance to do what they want.

　　B) When they don’t enjoy the materials they are studying.

　　C) When they experience something unpleasant.

　　D) When they engage in some routine activities.

　　47. What does the author say boredom can lead to?

　　A) Determination

　　B) Mental deterioration

　　C) Concentration

　　D) Harmful conduct

　　48. What is the findings of one team of psychologists in their experiment?

　　A) Volunteers prefer watching a boring movie to sitting alone deliberating.

　　B) Many volunteers choose to hurt themselves rather than endure boredom.

　　C) Male volunteers are more immune to the effects of boredom than females.

　　D) Many volunteers are unable to resist boredom longer than fifteen minutes.

　　49. Why does the author say boredom isn’t all bad?

　　A) It stimulates memorization.

　　B) It may promote creative thinking.

　　C) It allows time for relaxation.

　　D) It may facilitate independent learning.

　　50. What does the author suggests one do when faced with a challenging problem?

　　A) Stop idling and think big.

　　B) Unlock one’s smartphone.

　　C) Look around oneself for stimulation.

　　D) Allow oneself some time to be bored.

　　【答案】ADBBD

　　46. A)When they don’t have the chance to do what they want.

　　【解题思路】根据题干关键词 an accepted psychological definition定位到第二段第二句。句中“being unable to engage”与A选项中“don't have the chance to do”为同义改写;“satisfying activity”与A选项中的“what they want”为同义改写。A 选项忠于原文信息，故选A。

　　【干扰排除】B选项中的“studying materials”;C选项中的“experience unpleasant”;原文中没有提到为无中生有。D选项中的 “engage in”出现在定位句中，但“routine activities”答案句中未出现。

　　47. D) Harmful conduct

　　【解题思路】题干问作者认为“boredom”会导致什么，定位第三段第一句。该句中“inattentive driving, mindless snacking, excessive drinking”等都是由无聊引起的不良行为，对应选项D的harmful conduct，即有害的行为。

　　【干扰排除】A、B、C选项意思分别为“决心”、“注意力”和“智力衰退”，与答案句不符。

　　48. B)Many volunteers choose to hurt themselves rather than endure boredom.

　　【解题思路】根据题干关键词“findings”“team of psychologists”和“experiment”定位到第三段第二句。第三段提及的实验表明：许多志愿者宁愿“self-administer electric shocks”也不愿忍受无聊，该部分与B选项完全吻合， 故选B。

　　【干扰排除】选项A意为“志愿者宁愿看无聊电影也不愿独自无聊地思考”，与答案句意义相反。C选项中的男女志愿者的比较，文中没有提到，为无中生有。D选项意为“多数志愿者不能忍受无聊超过15分钟”，答案句中并未提及，故排除。

　　49. B) It may promote creative thinking.

　　【解题思路】根据题干定位到第四段第五句，该段首句表明“无聊并非一无是处，无聊可以刺激活动。”在该段下面的论述中，实验人员证明了“boredom”促使志愿者完成“creative challenge”，该句与B选项为同义改写， 故选B

　　【干扰排除】选项A意为“刺激记忆”，未提及。选项词意为“无聊带来放松和时间”，同样未提及。D选项中的“facilitate independent learning”在答案句中并未出现。

　　50. D)Allow oneself some time to be bored.

　　【解题思路】根据题干中的关键词“a challenging problem”定位第五段。第五段首句表明“无聊是有益处的”;该段第二句中的“watch paint dry or water boil”均为作者的建议，这些“无聊”的行为也许能帮助人们想出解决问题的妙招。故D选项复合题意。

　　【干扰排除】A、B选项与答案句意思相反;C选项文章并未提到，故均可排除。

　　Passage Two

　　1. Forests in countries like Brazil and the Congo get a lot of attention from environmentalists, and it is easy to see why. South America and sub-Saharan Africa are experiencing deforestation on an enormous scale: every year almost 5 million hectares are lost. But forests are also changing in rich Western countries. They are growing larger, both in the sense that they occupy more and that the trees in them and bigger. What is going on?

　　2. Forests are spreading in almost all Western countries, with fastest growth in places that historically had rather few tress. In 1990 28% of Spain was forested; now the proportion is 37%. In both Greece and Italy, the growth was from 26% to 32% over the same period. Forests are gradually taking more and in America and Australia. Perhaps most astonishing is the trend in Ireland. Roughly 1% of that country was forested when it became independent in 1922. Forests cover 11% of the land, and the government wants to push the proportion to 18% by the 2040s.

　　3. Two things are fertilising this growth. The first is the abandonment of farmland, especially in high, dry places where nothing grows terribly well. When farmers give up trying to earn a living from farming or herding trees simply move in. The second is government policy and subsidy. Throughout history, governments have protected and promoted forests for diverse reasons, ranging from the need for wooden warships to a desire to promote suburban house-building. Nowadays forests are increasingly welcome because they suck in carbon pollution from the air. The justifications change; the desire for more trees remains constant.

　　4. The greening of the West does not delight everyone. Farmers complain that land is being taken out of use by generously subsidised tree plantations. Parts of Spain and Portugal suffer from terrible forest fires. Others simply dislike the appearance of forests planted in neat rows. They will have to get used to the trees, however. The growth of Western forests seems almost as unstoppable as deforestation elsewhere.

　　51. What is catching environmentalists’ attention nowadays?

　　A) Rich countries are stripping poor ones of their resources.

　　B) Forests are fast shrinking in many developing countries.

　　C) Forests are eating away the fertile farmland worldwide.

　　D) Rich countries are doing little to address deforestation.

　　52. Which countries have the fastest forest growth?

　　A) Those that have newly achieved independence.

　　B) Those that at have the greatest demand for timber

　　C) Those that used to have the lowest forest coverage.

　　D) Those that provide enormous government subsidies.

　　53. What has encouraged forest growth historically?

　　A) The government’s advocacy.

　　B) The use of wood for fuel.

　　C) The favorable climate.

　　D) The green movement.

　　54. What account for our increasing desire for forests?

　　A) Their unique scenic beauty.

　　B) Their use as fruit plantation.

　　C) Their capability of improving air quality.

　　D) Their stable supply of building materials.

　　55. What does the author conclude about the prospects of forestation?

　　A) Deserts in sub-Saharan Africa will diminish gradually.

　　B) It will play a more and more important role in people’s lives.

　　C) Forest destruction in the developing world will quickly slow down.

　　D) Developed and developing countries are moving in opposite direction.

　　【答案】BCACD

　　51.B) Forests are fast shrinking in many developing countries.

　　【解题思路】根据题干关键词environmentalists’ attention定位首段第一第二句，第二句表明“南美与非洲大面积森林减少”，这正是吸引环保主义者的原因。该段中提到的巴西与刚果均为发展中国家，故B选项符合题意。

　　【干扰排除】A选项中“富国剥夺穷国的资源”，C选项中“森林在侵占耕地面积”;D选项中“发达国家为森林减少无所作为”均为无中生有，故排除。

　　52.C)Those that used to have the lowest forest coverage.

　　【解题思路】根据题干关键词fastest forest growth 和 countries定位第二段首句即可。该句中的with fastest growth in places that historically had rather few tress与C选项为同义改写;lowest forest coverage(森林覆盖率)等于“had rather few trees”，符合题意，故选C

　　【干扰排除】选项A、B、D中均有个别词在该段出现，如“independence”，“government'”，但均未细节拼凑，与题干不符，故排除。

　　53.A) The government’s advocacy.

　　【解题思路】根据题干关键词“forest growth”定位第三段。第三段解释了两个森林覆盖在发达国家增长的原因，第一个原因为农民放弃耕地，第二个原因是政府鼓励支持，前者选项中未提及，只有答案A“政府的提倡”符合，故选A。

　　【干扰排除】B“使用木头做燃料”C“天气原因”和D“环保运动”等的原因在文章中均为提及，故排除。

　　54. C) Their capability of improving air quality.

　　【解题思路】根据题干关键词increasing desire for forests定位第三段最后两句，对于“森林覆盖率不断增长的需求”的原因是“they suck in carbon pollution from the air.”，即森林可以吸收空气中的二氧化碳，这句话与C选项为同义改写，故选C

　　【干扰排除】A、B、D三个选项中的个别词均在文中出现，具有一定的干扰性，定位时需要确保正确选项中包含题干的关键词、或与其有替换与改写，且能回答题干的问题。

　　55. D) Developed and developing countries are moving in opposite direction.

　　【解题思路】根据题干关键词the prospects of forestation定位最后一段，该段开头提到的“the greening of the West”指发达国家的“森林覆盖率的增加”，最后一句提到“The growth of Western forests seems almost as unstoppable as deforestation elsewhere.”即西方国家“森林覆盖率的增加”这一趋势势不可挡，而其他地方(前文提到的发展中国家)的森林覆盖率减少的趋势同样难以控制形成对比，D选项符合题意，故选。

　　【干扰排除】A选项“非洲的沙漠将逐渐消失”文中并未提及， B选项“森林在人类生活中的角色将越来越重要”也没有提到。C选项“发展中国家森林减少的情况会迅速好转”与首段内容相反，故均可排除。

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