英语四级真题及答案汇编.docx

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英语四级真题及答案

Section B
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.
The Gatais used to frown when they received power bills that routinely topped $200. Last September the couple moved into a 1,500-square-foot home in Premier Gardens, a subdivision of 95 "zero-energy homes"(ZEH)just outside town. Now they're actually eager to see their electricity bills. The grand total over the 10 months they've lived in the three-bedroom house: $ 75. For the past two months they haven't paid a cent.
ZEH communities are the leading edge of technologies that might someday create houses that produce as much energy as they consume. Premier Gardens is one of a half-dozen subdivisions in California where every home cuts power consumption by 50% , mostly by using low-power appliances and solar panels.
Aside from the panels on the roof, Premier Gardens looks like a community of conventional homes. But inside, special windows cut power bills by blocking solar heat in summer and retaining indoor warmth in winter.
The rest of the energy savings comes from the solar units. They don't just feed the home they serve. If they generate more power than the home is using, the excess flows into the utility's power grid(电网). The residents are billed by "net metering" : they pay for the amount of power they tap off the grid, less the kilowatts(千瓦)they feed into it. If a home generates more power than it uses, the bill is zero.
That sounds like a bad deal for the power company, but it's not. Solar homes produce the most power on the hot sunny afternoons when everyone rushes home to turn up the air conditioner. " It helps us lower usage at peak power times," says solar expert Mike Keesee. " That lets us avoid building costly plants or buying expensive power at peak usage time. "
What's not to like? Mostly the costs. The special features can add $ 25,000 or more to the purchase price of a house. Tax breaks bring the cost down, especially in California, but in many states ZEHs can be prohibitively expensive. For the consumer, it's a matter of paying now for the hardware to save later on the utilities.
58． Why are the Gatais eager to see their electricity bills now?
A．They want to see how much they have saved.
B．They want to cut down their utility expenses.
C．They want to know if they are able to pay.
D．They want to avoid being overcharged.
59． What is special about the ZEH communities?
A．They have created cutting-edge technologies.
B．They aim to be self-sufficient in power supply.
C．They are subdivided into half a dozen sections.
D．They are built in harmony with the environment.
60． How are the residents in the ZEH communities billed for electricity use?
A．They are only charged for the amount of power they consume on rainy days.
B．They needn't pay a single cent for their power consumption on sunny days.
C．They only pay for the excess power that flows into the utility's power grid.
D．They pay for the electricity from the grid less their home-generated power.
61． What does the "net metering" practice mean to the power company?
A．More pressure at peak time.
B．Less profits in the short term.
C．Increased electricity output.
D．Reduced operational costs.
62． The author believes that buying a house in a ZEH community______.
A．is but a dream for average consumers
B．gives the owner substantial tax benefits
C．is a worthy investment in the long run
D．contributes to environmental protection

Romantic love has clear evolutionary roots but our views about what makes an ideal romantic relationship can be swayed by the society we live in. So says psychologist Maureen O'Sullivan from the University of San Francisco. She suggests that humans have always tried to strengthen the pair-bond to maximise(使最大化)reproductive success.
Many societies throughout history and around the world today have cultivated strong pressures to stay married. In those where ties to family and community are strong, lifelong marriages can be promoted by practices such as the cultural prohibition of divorce and arranged marriages that are seen as a contract between two families, not just two individuals. In modern western societies, however, the focus on individuality and independence means that people are less concerned about conforming to(遵守)the dictates of family and culture. In the absence of societal pressures to maintain pair-bonds, O'Sullivan suggests that romantic love has increasingly come to be seen as the factor that should determine who we stay with and for how long. " That's why historically we see an increase in romantic love as a basis for forming long-term relationships," she says.
According to O'Sullivan culture also shapes the sorts of feelings we expect to have, and actually do experience, when in love. Although the negative emotions associated with romantic love—fear of loss, disappointment and jealousy—are fairly consistent across cultures, the positive feelings can vary. " If you ask Japanese students to list the positive attributes they expect in a romantic partner, they rate highly things like loyalty, commitment and devotion," says O'Sullivan. " If you ask American college women, they expect everything under the sun: in addition to being committed, partners have to be amusing, funny and a friend. "
We judge a potential partner according to our specific cultural expectations about what romantic love should feel like. If you believe that you have found true romance, and your culture tells you that this is what a long-term relationship should be based on, there is less need to rely on social or family pressures to keep couples together, O'Sullivan argues.
63． What does the author say about people's views of an ideal romantic relationship?
A．They vary from culture to culture.
B．They ensure the reproductive success.
C．They reflect the evolutionary process.
D．They are influenced by psychologists.
64． We can infer from the passage that strong family and community ties______.
A．largely rely on marriage contracts
B．can contribute to stable marriages
C．often run counter to romantic love
D．make divorces virtually unacceptable
65． Without social pressures to keep pair-bonds, romantic love______.
A．will be a substitute for marriage in human relationships
B．plays a key role in maintaining long-term relationships
C．is likely to replace the dictates of family and society
D．is a way to develop individuality and independence
66． O'Sullivan believes that when people from different cultures fall in love, ______.
A．they expect different things from their partner
B．they tend to exaggerate each other's positive qualities
C．they often fail to see each other's negative qualities
D．they lay more emphasis on commitment and devotion
67． We can conclude from the passage that______.
A．cultural differences often tear apart a family built on romantic love
B．marriages are hard to sustain without social or family pressures
C．romantic love is becoming increasingly important in family relationships
D．romantic love tends to yield where family or social pressures are strong

Passage One
Questions 56 to 60 are based on the following passage.
In recent years, a growing body of research has shown that our appetite and food intake are influenced by a large number of factors besides our biological need for energy, including our eating environment and our perception of the food in front of us.Studies have shown, for instance, that eating in front of the TV (or a similar distraction) can increase both hunger and the amount of food consumed. Even simple visual cues, like plate size and lighting, have been shown to affect portion size and consumption.A new study suggested that our short-term memory also may play a role in appetite. Several hours after a meal, people’s hunger levels were predicted not by how much they’d eaten but rather by how much food they’d seen in front of them—in other words, how much they remembered eating.This disparity (差异) suggests the memory of our previous meal may have a bigger influence on our appetite than the actual size of the meal, says Jeffrey M. Brunstrom, a professor of experimental psychology at the University of Bristol.“Hunger isn’t controlled solely by the physical characteristics of a recent meal. We have identified an independent role for memory for that meal,” Brunstrom says. “This shows that the relationship between hunger and food intake is more complex than we thought.”These findings echo earlier research that suggests our perception of food can sometimes trick our body’s response to the food itself. In a 2011 study, for instance, people who drank the same 380-calorie (卡路里) milkshake on two separate occasions produced different levels of hunger-related hormones (荷尔蒙), depending on whether the shake’s label said it contained 620 or 140 calories. Moreover, the participants reported feeling more full when they thought they’d consumed a higher-calorie shake.What does this mean for our eating habits? Although it hardly seems practical to trick ourselves into eating less, the new findings do highlight the benefits of focusing on our food and avoiding TV and multitasking while eating.The so-called mindful-eating strategies can fight distractions and help us control our appetite, Brunstrom says.
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
56. What is said to be a factor affecting our appetite and food intake?
A) How we perceive the food we eat.C) When we eat our meals.
B) What ingredients the food contains.D) How fast we eat our meals.
57. What would happen at meal time if you remembered eating a lot in the previous meal?
A) You would probably be more picky about food.
B) You would not feel like eating the same food.
C) You would have a good appetite.
D) You would not feel so hungry.
58. What do we learn from the 2011 study?
A) Food labels may mislead consumers in their purchases.
B) Food labels may influence our body’s response to food.
C) Hunger levels depend on one’s consumption of calories.
D) People tend to take in a lot more calories than necessary.
59. What does Brunstrom suggest we do to control our appetite?
A) Trick ourselves into eating less.C) Concentrate on food while eating.
B) Choose food with fewer calories.D) Pick dishes of the right size.
60. What is the main idea of the passage?
A) Eating distractions often affect our food digestion.
B) Psychological factors influence our hunger levels.
C) Our food intake is determined by our biological needs.
D) Good eating habits will contribute to our health.

Passage Two
Questions 61 to 65 are based on the following passage.
As a society we might want to rethink the time and money spent on education, so that these resources can benefit a greater percentage of the population. Ideally, both high schools and colleges can prepare individuals for the ever-changing roles that are likely to be expected of them.High school degrees offer far less in the way of preparation for work than they might, or than many other nations currently offer, creating a growing skills gap in our economy. We encourage students to go on to college whether they are prepared or not, or have a clear sense of purpose or interest, and now have the highest college dropout rate in the world.We might look to other countries for models of how high schools can offer better training, as well as the development of a work ethic (勤奋工作的美德) and the intellectual skills needed for continued learning and development. I recommend Harvard’s 2011 “Pathways to Prosperity” report for more attention to the “forgotten half” (those who do not go on to college) and ideas about how to address this issue.Simultaneously, the liberal arts become more important than ever. In a knowledge economy where professional roles change rapidly and many college students are preparing for positions that may not even exist yet, the skill set needed is one that prepares them for change and continued learning.Learning to express ideas well in both writing and speech, knowing how to find information, and knowing how to do research are all solid background skills for a wide variety of roles, and such training is more important than any particular major in a liberal arts college. We need to continue to value broad preparation in thinking skills that will serve for a lifetime.Students also need to learn to work independently and to make responsible decisions. The lengthening path to adulthood appears exacerbated (恶化) by parental involvement in the college years. Given the rising investment in college education, parental concern is not surprising, but learning where and when to intervene (干预) will help students take more ownership of the outcomes of these increasingly costly educations.
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
61. What kind of education does the author think is ideal?
A) It benefits the great majority of the general population.
B) It prepares students to meet the future needs of society.
C) It encourages students to learn throughout their lives.
D) It ensures that students’ expectations are successfully fulfilled.
62. What does the author say is the problem with present high school education?
A) Ignoring the needs of those who don’t go to college.
B) Teaching skills to be used right after graduation only.
C) Giving little attention to those having difficulty learning.
D) Creating the highest dropout rate in the developed world.
63. What characterizes a knowledge economy according to the passage?
A) People have to receive higher education to qualify for a professional position.
B) Students majoring in liberal arts usually have difficulty securing a job.
C) New positions are constantly created that require people to keep learning.
D) Colleges find it hard to teach students how to cope with the changing economy.
64. What does the author think a liberal arts college should focus on?
A) Solid background knowledge in a particular field.
B) Practical skills urgently needed in current society.
C) Basic skills needed for change and lifelong learning.
D) Useful thinking skills for advanced academic research.
65. What suggestion does the author offer to parents?
A) Rethinking the value of higher education.
B) Investing wisely in their children’s education.
C) Helping their children to bring their talent into full play.
D) Avoiding too much intervention in their children’s education.

Passage One
Questions 56 to 60 are based on the following passage.

A recent global survey of 2 000 high-net-worth individuals found that 60% were not planning on a traditional retirement. Among US participants, 75% expected to continue working in some capacity even after stepping away from full-time jobs. “Many of these people made their wealth by doing something