2013年12月大学英语四级仔细阅读习题及答案

2013年12月大学英语四级仔细阅读习题及答案 （一） Judging from recent surveys,most experts in sleep behavior agree that there is virtually an epidemic (流行病) of sleepiness in the nation. “I can'tthink of a single study that hasn't found Americans getting less sleep thanthey ought to,” says Dr. David. Even people who think they are sleeping enoughwould probably be better off with more rest. 　　The beginning of our sleep-deficit (睡眠不足) crisis can betraced to the invention of the light bulb a century ago. From diary entries andother personal accounts from the 18th and 19th centuries, sleep scientists havereached the conclusion that the average person used to sleep about 9.5 hours anight. “The best sleep habits once were forced on us, when we had nothing to doin the evening down on the farm, and it was dark.” By the 1950s and 1960s, thatsleep schedule had been reduced dramatically, to between 7.5 and eight hours,and most people had to wake to an alarm clock. “People cheat on their sleep,and they don't even realize they're doing it,” says Dr. David. "They thinkthey're okay because they can get by on 6.5hours, when they really need 7.5, eight or even more to feel ideallyvigorous." 　　Perhaps the most merciless robber of sleep,researchers say, is the complexity of the day. Whenever pressures from work,family, friends and community mount, many people consider sleep the leastexpensive item on his programme. 'In our society, you're considered dynamic ifyou say you only need 5.5 hours' sleep. If you've got to get 8.5 hours, peoplethink you lack drive and ambition." 　　To determine the consequences of sleep deficit,researchers have put subjects through a set of psychological and performancetests requiring them, for instance, to add columns of numbers or recall apassage read to them only minutes earlier. "We've found that if you're insleep deficit, performance suffers," says Dr. David. “Short-term memory isweakened, as are abilities to make decisions and to concentrate.” 　　1. People in the 18th and 19th centuries used to sleep about 9.5 hoursa night because they 　　had _______ . 　　A) no drive and ambition B) noelectric lighting 　　C) the best sleep habits D)nothing to do in the evening 　　2. According to Dr. David, Americans _______ . 　　A) areideally vigorous even under the pressure of life 　　B) ofienneglect the consequences of sleep deficit 　　C) do notknow how to relax themselves properly 　　D) can getby on 6.5 hours of sleep 　　3. Many Americans believe that _______ . 　　A) sleep isthe first thing that can be sacrificed when one is busy 　　B) they needmore sleep to cope with the complexities of everyday life 　　C) to sleepis something one can do at any time of the day 　　D) enoughsleep promotes people's drive and ambition 　　4. The word “subjects” (Line 1, Para. 4) refers to______ . 　　A) the performancetests used in the study of sleep deficit 　　B) specialbranches of knowledge that are being studied 　　C) peoplewhose behavior or reactions are being studied 　　D) thepsychological consequences of sleep deficit 　　5. It can be concluded fromthe passage that one should sleep as many hours as is necessary to ______ . 　　A) improveone's memory dramatically 　　B) beconsidered dynamic by other people 　　C) maintainone's daily schedule 　　D) feelenergetic and perform adequately （二） We find that bright children are rarely held back by mixed-ability teaching. Onthe contrary, both their knowledge and experience are enriched. We feel thatthere are many disadvantages in streaming(把......按能力分班) pupils. It doesnot take into account the fact that children develop at different rates. It canhave a bad effect on both the bright and the not-so-bright child. After all, itcan be quite discouraging to be at the bottom of the top grade! 　　Besides, it is rather unreal tograde people just according to their intellectual ability. This isonly one aspect of their totalpersonality. We are concerned to develop the abilities of all our pupils to thefull, not just their academic ability. We also value personal qualities andsocial skills, and we find that mixed-ability teaching contributes to all theseaspects of learning. 　　In our classrooms, we work invarious ways. The pupils often work in groups: this gives them the opportunityto learn to co-operate, to share, and to develop leadership skills. They alsolearn how to cope with personal problems as well as learning how to think, tomake decisions, to analyse and evaluate, and to communicate effectively. Thepupils learn from each other as well as from the teacher. 　　Sometimes the pupils work inpairs; sometimes they work on individual tasks and assignments, and they can dothis at their own speed. They also have some formal class teaching when this isappropriate. We encourage our pupils to use the library, and we teach them theskills they need in order to do this efficiently. An advanced pupil can doadvanced work: it does not matter what age the child is. We expect our pupilsto do their best, not their least, and we give them every encouragement toattain this goal. 　　1. In the passage the author's attitude towards"mixed-ability teaching" is _______ . 　　A) critical B)questioning 　　C) approving D)objective 　　2. By "held back" (Line I) the authormeans ______ . 　　A) made to remain in the same classes 　　B) forced to study in the lower classes 　　C) drawn to their studies 　　D) prevented from advancing 　　3. The author argues that a teacher's chief concernshould be the development of the 　　student's _______ . 　　A) personal qualities and social skills 　　B) total personality 　　C) learning ability and communicative skills 　　D) intellectual ability 　　4. Which of the following is NOT MENTIONED in thethird paragraph? 　　A) Group work gives pupils the opportunity tolearn to work together with others. 　　B) Pupils also learn to develop their reasoningabilities. 　　C) Group work provides pupils with theopportunity to learn to be capable organizers. 　　D) Pupils also learn how to participate inteaching activities. 　　5. The author's purpose in writing this passage isto _______ . 　　A) argue for teaching bright andnot-so-bright pupils in the same class 　　B) recommend pair work and group work forclassroom activities 　　C) offer advice on the proper use of thelibrary D) emphasize the importance of appropriateformal classroom teaching （三） What has thetelephone done to us, or for us, in the hundred years of its existence? A feweffects suggest themselves at once. It has saved lives by getting rapid word ofillness, injury, or fire from remote places. By joining with the elevator tomake possible the multi-story residence or office building, it has madepossible for better or worse -- the modem city. By bringing about a great leapin the speed and ease with which information moves from place to place, it hasgreatly accelerated the rate of scientific and technological changes and growthin industry. Beyond doubt it has seriously weakened if not killed the ancientart of letter writing. It has made living alone possible for persons withnormal social impulses (冲动) ; by so doing, it has played a role in one of thegreatest social changes of this century, the breakup of the multi-generationalhousehold. It has made the war chillingly more efficient than formerly.Perhaps, though not provably, it has prevented wars that might have arisen outof intemational misunderstanding caused by written communic