2010-2013年四级阅读

2010年6月英语四级考试真题 57. What does the author say about the black box? A) It ensures the normal functioning of an airplane. B) The idea for its design comes from a comic book. C) Its ability to ward off disasters is incredible. D) It is an indispensable device on an airplane. 58. What information could be found from the black box on the Yemeni airliner? A) Data for analyzing the cause of the crash. B) The total number of passengers on board. C) The scene of the crash and extent of the damage. D) Homing signals sent by the pilot before the crash. 59. Why was the black box redesigned in 1965? A) New materials became available by that time. B) Too much space was needed for its installation. C) The early models often got damaged in the crash. D) The early models didn't provide the needed data. 60. Why did the Federal Aviation Authority require the black boxes be painted orange or yellow? A) To distinguish them from the colour of the plane. B) To caution people to handle them with care. C) To make them easily identifiable. D) To conform to international standards. 61. What do we know about the black boxes from Air France Flight 447? A) There is still a good chance of their being recovered. B) There is an urgent need for them to be reconstructed. C) They have stopped sending homing signals. D) They were destroyed somewhere near Brazil. Passage Two 62. What do we learn from the first paragraph about the self-help industry? A) It is a highly profitable industry. B) It is based on the concept of positive thinking. C) It was established by Norman Vincent Peale. D) It has yielded positive results. 63. What is the finding of the Canadian researchers? A) Encouraging positive thinking many do more harm than good. B) There can be no simple therapy for psychological problems. C) Unhappy people cannot think positively. D) The power of positive thinking is limited. 64. What does the author mean by "… you're just underlining his faults" (Line 4, Para. 3)? A) You are not taking his mistakes seriously enough. B) You are pointing out the errors he has committed. C) You are emphasizing the fact that he is not intelligent. D) You are trying to make him feel better about his faults. 65. What do we learn from the experiment of Wood, Lee and Perunovic? A) It is important for people to continually boost their self-esteem. B) Self-affirmation can bring a positive change to one's mood. C) Forcing a person to think positive thoughts may lower their self-esteem. D) People with low self-esteem seldom write down their true feelings. 66. What do we learn from the last paragraph? A) The effects of positive thinking vary from person to person. B) Meditation may prove to be a good form of psychotherapy. C) Different people tend to have different ways of thinking. D) People can avoid making mistakes through meditation. 答案 　Section B Passage 1 57. C) Its ability to ward off disasters is incredible. 58. A) Data for analyzing the cause of the crash. 59. C) The early models often got damaged in the crash. 60. C) To make them easily identifiable. 61. A) There is still a good chance for their being recovered. Passage 2 62. B) It is based on the concept of positive thinking 63. A) Encouraging positive thinking may do more harm than good 64. B) You are pointing out the errors he has committed 65. C) Forcing a person to think positive thoughts may lower their self-esteem 66. B) Meditation may prove to be a good form of psychotherapy 2010年12月英语四级考试真题 57. By “a one-way street” (Line 1, Para. 1), the author means ________. [A] university researchers know little about the commercial world [B] there is little exchange between industry and academia [C] few industrial scientists would quit to work in a university [D] few university professors are willing to do industrial research 58. The word “deterrent” (Line 2, Para. 1) most probably refers to something that ________. [A] keeps someone from taking action [C] attracts people’s attention [B] helps to move the traffic [D] brings someone a financial burden 59. What was Helen Lee’s major consideration when she changed her job in the middle of her career? [A] Flexible work hours. [C] Her preference for the lifestyle on campus. [B] Her research interests. [D] Prospects of academic accomplishments. 60. Guy Grant chose to work as a researcher at Cambridge in order to ________. [A] do financially more rewarding work [B] raise his status in the academic world [C] enrich his experience in medical research [D] exploit better intellectual opportunities 61. What contribution can industrial scientists make when they come to teach in a university? [A] Increase its graduates’ competitiveness in the job market. [B] Develop its students’ potential in research. [C] Help it to obtain financial support from industry. [D] Gear its research towards practical applications. Passage Two Questions 62 to 66 are based on the following passage. Being sociable looks like a good way to add years to your life. Relationships with family, friends, neighbours, even pets, will all do the trick, but the biggest longevity (长寿) boost seems to come from marriage or an equivalent relationship. The effect was first noted in 1858 by William Farr, who wrote that widows and widowers (鳏夫) were at a much higher risk of dying than their married peers. Studies since then suggest that marriage could add as much as seven years to a man’s life and two to a woman’s. The effect holds for all causes of death, whether illness, accident or self-harm. Even if the odds are stacked against you, marriage can more than compensate. Linda Waite of the University of Chicago has found that a married older man with heart disease can expect to live nearly four years longer than an unmarried man with a healthy heart. Likewise, a married man who smokes more than a pack a day is likely to live as long as a divorced man who doesn’t smoke. There’s a flip side, however, as partners are more likely to become ill or die in the couple of years following their spouse’s death, and caring for a spouse with mental disorder can leave you with some of the same severe problems. Even so, the odds favour marriage. In a 30-year study of more than 10,000 people, Nicholas Christakis of Harvard Medical School describes how all kinds of social networks have similar effects. So how does it work? The effects are complex, affected by socio-economic factors, health-service provision, emotional support and other more physiological (生理的) mechanisms. For example, social contact can boost development of the brain and immune system, leading to better health and less chance of depression later in life. People in supportive relationships may handle stress better. Then there are the psychological benefits of a supportive partner. A life partner, children and good friends are all recommended if you aim to live to 100. The ultimate social network is still being mapped out, but Christakis says: “People are interconnected, so their h