专四阅读理解
Before the mid 1860’s, the impact of the railroads in the United States was limited, in the sense that the tracks ended at this Missouri River, approximately the center of the country. At the point the trains turned their freight, mail, and passengers over to steamboats, wagons, and stagecoaches. This meant that wagon freighting, stage coaching, and steam boating did not come to an end when the first train appeared; rather they became supplements or feeders. Each new “end of track” became a center for animal drawn or waterborne transportation. The major effect of the railroad was to shorten the distance that had to be covered by the older, slower, and more costly means. Wagon freighters continued operating throughout the 1870’s and 1880’s and into the 1890’s.
Although over constantly shrinking routes, and coaches and wagons continued to crisscross the West wherever the rails had not yet been laid. The beginning of a major change was foreshadowed in the later 1860’s, when the Union Pacific Railroad at last began to build westward from the Central Plains city of Omaha to meet the Central Pacific Railroad advancing eastward from California through the formidable barrier of the Sierra Nevada. Although President Abraham Lincoln signed the original Pacific Railroad bill in 1862 and a revised, financially much more generous version in 1864, little construction was completed until 1865 on the Central Pacific and 1866 on the Union Pacific. The primary reason was skepticism that a Railroad built through so challenging and thinly settled a stretch of desert, mountain, and semiarid plain could pay a profit. In the words of an economist, this was a case of “premature enterprise”, where not only the cost of construction but also the very high risk deterred private investment. In discussing the Pacific Railroad bill, the chair of the congressional committee bluntly stated that without government subsidy no one would undertake so unpromising a venture; yet it was a national necessity to link East and West together.
16. The author refers to the impact of railroads before the late 1860’s as “limited” because ____ .
A. the track did not take the direct route from one city to the next
B. passengers and freight had to transfer to other modes of transportation to reach western destinations
C. passengers preferred stagecoaches
D. railroad travel was quite expensive
17. What can be inferred about coaches and wagon freighters as the railroad expanded?
A. They developed competing routes.
B. Their drivers refused to work for the railroads.
C. They began to specialize in private investment.
D. There were insufficient numbers of trained people to operate them.
18. Why does the author mention the Sierra Nevada in line 17?
A. To argue that a more direct route to the West could have been taken.
B. To identify a historically significant mountain range in the West.
C. To point out the location of a serious train accident.
D. To give an example of an obstacle faced by the central pacific.
19. The word “subsidy” in line 27 is closest in meaning to _____ .
A. persuasion
B. financing
C. explanation
D. penalty
答案和解析:
16. B) 根据文章前五句可知,在十九世纪六十年代晚期前铁路在美国的影响是有限的“limited”,当时铁路只从美国东部修到了美国中部,运到美国西部地区的货物只有在铁路的尽头“end of track”改用其他的运输方式,比如:汽船、马车等,它们的运输效率可想而知。故选项B 为正确答案。
17. D) 这是一道推论题。可用排除法做此题。根据文章第六行至第七行“rather they became supplements or feeders”和第十行至第十三行“Wagon freighters continued operating throughout the 1870’s and 1880’s and into the 1890’s. Although over constantly shrinking routes, and coaches and wagons continued to crisscross the West wherever the rails had not yet been laid.”可知随着铁路线的不断延伸,马车货运的路线日益减少,虽然马车货运经营者们继续在西部发展货运线路,但是它们只是铁路运输的补充。因此选项A“他们发展了有竞争性的线路”可以排除。而选项B 、C 文中根本没有提及。故只有选项D 为正确答案。
18. D) 根据“the Sierra Nevada”所在句可知作者提到它是因为它是修建横跨东西铁路的一个巨大的障碍,故D 为正确答案。
19. B)Subsidy意为“补助金,津贴”,与financing 意义相符。
Certainly no creature in the sea is odder than the common sea cucumber. All living creature, especially human beings, have their peculiarities, but everything about the little sea cucumber seems unusual. What else can be said about a bizarre animal that, among other eccentricities, eats mud, feeds almost continuously day and night but can live without eating for long periods, and can be poisonous but is considered supremely edible by gourmets? For some fifty million years, despite all its eccentricities, the sea cucumber has subsisted on its diet of mud. It is adaptable enough to live attached to rocks by its tube feet, under rocks in shallow water, or on the surface of mud flats.
Common in cool water on both Atlantic and Pacific shores, it has the ability to suck up mud or sand and digest whatever nutrients are present. Sea cucumbers come in a variety of colors, ranging from black to reddish brown to sand color and nearly white. One form even has vivid purple tentacles. Usually the creatures are cucumber shaped —hence their name —and because they are typically rock inhabitants, this shape, combined with flexibility, enables them to squeeze into crevices where they are safe from predators and ocean currents. Although they have voracious appetites, eating day and night, sea cucumbers have the capacity to become quiescent and live at a low metabolic rate—feeding sparingly or not at all for long periods, so that the marine organisms that provide their food have a chance to multiply. If it were not for this faculty, they would devour all the food available in a short time and would probably starve themselves out of existence. But the most spectacular thing about the sea cucumber is the way it defends itself. Its major enemies are fish and crabs, when attacked, it squirts all its internal organs into water. It also casts off attached structures such as tentacles. The sea cucumber will eviscerate and regenerate itself if it is attacked or even touched; it will do the same if the surrounding water temperature is too high or if the water becomes too polluted.
20. According to the passage, why is the shape of sea cucumbers important?
A. It helps them to digest their food.
B. It helps them to protect themselves from danger.
C. It makes it easier for them to move through the mud.
D. It makes them attractive to fish.
21. The fourth paragraph of the passage primarily discusses ____ .
A. the reproduction of sea cucumbers
B. the food sources of sea cucumbers
C. the eating habits of sea cucumbers
D. threats to sea cucumbers’ existence
22. What can be inferred about the defence mechanisms of the sea cucumber?
A. They are very sensitive to surrounding stimuli.
B. They are almost useless.
C. They require group cooperation.
D. They are similar to those of most sea creatures.
23. Which of the following would NOT cause a sea cucumber to release its
internal organs into the water?
A. A touch.
B. Food.
C. Unusually warm water.
D. Pollution.
答案和解析:
20. B)通过阅读文章可以排除选项A 、C 、D ,因为文中没有提及,故选项B 为正确答案。
21. C)此题为段落主旨题。通过阅读第四段可知作者都是讲述海参的进食习惯,故选项C 为正确答案。
22. A)此题为推论题。根据最后一段可知海参在受到外界刺激时,会做出一定的反应,这也反映出它的防御机制非常敏感,故A 为正确答案。
23. B)此题为细节题。根据最后一段可知惟有food 不会使海参将体内器官吐出来,故其为正确答案。
Human beings have used tools for a very long time. In some parts of the world you can still find tools that people used more than two million years ago. They made these tools by hitting one stone against another. In this way, they broke off pieces from one of the stones. These chips of stone were usually sharp on one side. People used them for cutting meat and skin from dead animals, and also for making other tools out of wood. Human beings needed to use tools because they did not have sharp teeth like other meat eating animals, such as lions and tigers. Tools helped people to get food more easily. Working with tools also helped to develop human intelligence. The human brain grew bigger, and human beings began to invent more and more tools and machines. The stone chip was one of the first tools that people used, and perhaps it is the most important. Some scientists say that it was the key to success of mankind. Since 1960 a new kind of tool has appeared. This is the silicon chip —a little chip of silicon crystal. It is smaller than a fingernail, but it can store more than a million “bits” of informa tion. It is an electronic brain. Every year these chips get cleverer, but their size gets smaller, and their cost gets less. They are used in watches, calculators and intelligent machines that we can use in many ways. In the future we will not need to work with tools in the old way. Machines will do everything for us. They will even talk and play games with us. People will have plenty of spare time. But what will they do with it? Human beings used stone chips for more than two million years, but human life changed very little in that time. We have used silicon chips for only a few years, but life is changing faster every day. What will life be like twenty years from now? What will the world be like two million
years from now?
24. The stone chip is thought to be the most important tool because it ______.
A. was one of the first tools
B. developed human capabilities
C. led to the invention of machines
D. was crucial to the development of mankind
25. At the end of the passage the author seems to suggest that life in future is ______.
A. disastrous
B. unpredictable
C. exciting
D. colorful
解析和答案:
24. D) 这是一道细节题。根据文章第二段尾句“Some scientists say that it was the key to the success of mankind”可知“stone chip”对于人类的发展起到了非常重要的作用,这与D 正好相符。
25. B)在文章最后一段中作者说人类在过去的几百万年时间里一直使用“stone chip”,人类社会发生的变化很小。而我们使用“silicon chips”才不过几年,生活却发生了巨大的变化。于是作者发出了疑问:“二十年后的生活会是什么样子的呢?”,“二百万年后的世界又会是什么样子呢?”,表明将来的生活无法预料,这与选项B 相符。
California is a land of variety and contrast. Almost every type of physical land feature, sort of arctic ice fields and tropical jungles can be found within its borders. Sharply contrasting types of land often lie very close to one another. People living in Bakersfield, for instance, can visit the Pacific Ocean and the coastal plain, the fertile San Joaquin Valley, the arid Mojave Desert, and the high Sierra Nevada, all within a radius of about 100 miles. In other areas it is possible to go snow skiing in the morning and surfing in the evening of the same day, without having to travel long distance. Contrast abounds in California. The highest point in the United States (outside Alaska) is in California, and so is the lowest point (including Alaska).
Mount Whitney, 14,494 feet above sea level, is separated from Death Valley, 282 feet below sea level, by a distance of only 100 miles. The two areas have a difference in altitude of almost three miles. California has deep, clear mountain lakes like Lake Tahoe, the deepest in the country, but it also has shallow, salty desert lakes. It has Lake Tulainyo, 12,020 feet above sea level, and the lowest lake in the country, the Salton Sea, 236 feet below sea level. Some of its lakes, like Owens Lake in Death Valley, are not lakes at all: they are dried-up lake beds. In addition to mountains, lakes, valleys, deserts, and plateaus, California has its Pacific coastline, stretching longer than the coastlines of Oregon and Washington combined.
26. Which of the following is the lowest point in the United States?
A. Lake Tulainyo.
B. Mojave desert.
C. Death Valley.
D. The Salton Sea.
27. Where is the highest point in the United States located?
A. Lake Tahoe.
B. Sierra Nevada.
C. Mount Whitney.
D. Alaska.
28. How far away is Death Valley from Mount Whitney?
A. About 3 miles.
B. Only 100 miles.
C. 282 feet.
D. 14,494 feet.
29. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage as being within a radius of about 100 miles of Bakersfield?
A. The Pacific Ocean.
B. San Joaquin Valley.
C. Mojave Desert.
D. Oregon and Washington.
30. Which statement best demonstrates that California is a land of variety and contrast?
A. The highest lake in California is Lake Tulainyo.
B. It is possible to go surfing and snow skiing in some parts of California without having to travel long distance.
C. Sierra Nevada, San Joaquin Valley, Mojave Desert and the Pacific Ocean all lie within a radius of about 100 miles.
D. Owens Lake, in Death Valley, is not really a lake at all.
答案和解析:
26. C) 这是一道细节题。根据第三段所给的海拔高度,可知美国最低点在death valley。
27. D)此题很容易误选为C ,这是因为第三段提到Mount Whitney的海拔高度; 但是要注意此段第二句提到美国最高点时在括号中补充说明这个最高点是在Alaska 以外的。这就说明美国的海拔最高点不是Mount Whitney,而是位于Alaska 。
28. B)这是一道细节题。根据第三段可找出答案。
29. D)根据第二段可知答案。
30. C)文中说加利福尼亚是一个地貌多样,富于变化的地方,而选项C 是一个最突出的例子
Human beings have used tools for a very long time. In some parts of the world you can still find tools that people used more than two million years ago. They made these tools by hitting one stone against another. In this way, they broke off pieces from one of the stones. These chips of stone were usually sharp on one side. People used them for cutting meat and skin from dead animals, and also for making other tools out of wood. Human beings needed to use tools because they did not have sharp teeth like other meat eating animals, such as lions and tigers. Tools helped people to get food more easily. Working with tools also helped to develop human intelligence. The human brain grew bigger, and human beings began to invent more and more tools and machines. The stone chip was one of the first tools that people used, and perhaps it is the most important. Some scientists say that it was the key to success of mankind. Since 1960 a new kind of tool has appeared. This is the silicon chip —a little chip of silicon crystal. It is smaller than a fingernail, but it can store more than a million “bits” of information. It is an electronic brain. Every year these chips get cleverer, but their size gets smaller, and their cost gets less. They are used in watches, calculators and intelligent machines that we can use in many ways. In the future we will not need to work with tools in the old way. Machines will do everything for us. They will even talk and play games with us. People will have plenty of spare time. But what will they do
with it? Human beings used stone chips for more than two million years, but human life changed very little in that time. We have used silicon chips for only a few years, but life is changing faster every day. What will life be like twenty years from now? What will the world be like two million years from now?
24. The stone chip is thought to be the most important tool because it ______.
A. was one of the first tools
B. developed human capabilities
C. led to the invention of machines
D. was crucial to the development of mankind
25. At the end of the passage the author seems to suggest that life in future is ______.
A. disastrous
B. unpredictable
C. exciting
D. colorful
解析和答案:
24. D) 这是一道细节题。根据文章第二段尾句“Some scientists say that it was the key to the success of mankind”可知“stone chip”对于人类的发展起到了非常重要的作用,这与D 正好相符。
25. B)在文章最后一段中作者说人类在过去的几百万年时间里一直使用“stone chip”,人类社会发生的变化很小。而我们使用“silicon chips”才不过几年,生活却发生了巨大的变化。于是作者发出了疑问:“二十年后的生活会是什么样子的呢?”,“二百万年后的世界又会是什么样子呢?”,表明将来的生活无法预料,这与选项B 相符。