四級閱讀理解及答案VIP

1、精品文檔Passage 1By the time the Olympics begin in Atlanta this summer, the business world will have spentmore than $ 1 billionto link their names and products to the OlympicGames. There are 10Worldwide Sponsors, 10 Centennial Olympic Partners, about 20 regular sponsors and more than ahundred licensees.

2、 The AtlantaGames will boast an “ official" scouring pad and timepiece, twoofficialgame shows, and three officialvehicles: a family car, an import minivan and a luxurysedan.But what exactly do these companies reap for their huge investment? At the very least, theycommand tickets to the most pop

3、ular events, invitations to the best parties and prime hotel rooms.But most of all, according to US Postal Service, it is purchasing the right to spend money.And the right to spend money is expensive. The biggest backers, Olympicsponsors likeAnheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola, Mcdonald's and Xerox, commi

4、t up to $ 40 million. But, getting the rights to the Olympic rings is only half the battle. The other half is the challenge to sort of wrap their product brands around that image. Often that means TV time. And at roughly $ 400 000 per30-second spot, some of the biggest sponsors have already locked u

5、p every commercial slot intheir product categories that NBC has to sell.Not everyone is convinced that the Games areworth the price of business admission. The biggest and most conspicuous naysayer is Nike. Its spokesman says:“ If I see a Reebok official who may not be in the best shape firing the st

6、arting pistol and Carl Lewis wearing Nike shoes, I'm going to go with Carl because that's the authentic link." Nike's strategy is hard to argue with - instead of sponsoring the Olympics, it sponsors Olympians.Yet even Nike wants a piece of the Atlantic action. Along with some other

7、nonsponsors, Nike is trying to dot downtown Atlanta with billboards. Advertisement, it's another Olympic event.1. By“ official vehicles", the author means .A. automobiles for Olympic officials B. automobiles used in official occasionC. automobiles that the Olympic participants must drive D.

8、 automobiles that allowed to bear the Olympic symbol2. Which of the following is not an Olympic sponsor?A. US Postal Service. B. Nike. C. Coca-Cola. D. Mcdonald's3. The last sentence of this passage indicates .A. businesses trying to get publicity is a part of the Olympic GamesB. what the Olympi

9、c non-sponsors do is of no interest to the Olympic organizersC. that businesses must try very hard to earn money from the Olympic Games as if they were themselves competing in the GamesD. that those who fail to sponsor the Olympics this time will try very hard the next time 4. Which of the following

10、 is NOT implied in the passage ?A. Companies use their Olympic sponsorship to promote sales of their products.B. To provide sportswear for Carl Lewis is a more effective advertisement than to provide suits for Olympic officials.C. NBC makes great profits from selling advertising time to companies ea

11、ger to impress potential customers during the Olympic Games.D. Nike looks down upon the Olympic Games.5. Which of the following can best sum up the passage?A. Businesses want to profit from the Olympics. B. The 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.精品文檔C. The Olympic sponsorship. D. Importance of the Olympic G

12、ames.Passage 2Halloween(October 31)This is a holiday widely celebrated with different names in many countries. Although it originated as a religious holiday, it has lost its religious connections in the United States. It is now celebrated largely as a children's day, and many American children l

13、ook forward to it for days and weeks beforehand.The orange pumpkin is harvested at this time of year and is hollowed out, a funny face cut into it, and a candle placed inside as a decoration in the window. City folks, nowadays, sometimes use paper pumpkins for decorations.Some years ago, the holiday

14、 was celebrated by dressing up in strange and frightening costumes and playing tricks on one's neighbors and friends, such as ringing door bells, throwing bits of corn on the window panes, and in other ways making minor disturbances.More recently, children come to the door to have friends and ne

15、ighbors admire their costumes and guess who they are behind the false faces and receive treats of candy, fruit or cookies. They say, “ Trick or Treat", meaning, “ I will play a trick on you will not give me a treat." This practice has even more recently developed into a significant interna

16、tional activity. Instead of or along with candy, the children collect money for UNICEF (United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund). This special collection of money by children for needy children throughout the world is known as “ UNICEF Trick of Treat". Begun only recently, it

17、 results in several million dollars each year contributed to UNICEF. The collection box is orange, reminiscent of the pumpkin.6. What cloes Holloween originate from?A. a chilolren's day B. a trick or treat C. a religious day D. a day for UNI CEF7. Which of the following is not mentioned some yea

18、rs ago how the children celebrate the Halloween?A. Dressing up in strange and frightening costumes and playing tricks on one's neighbors friends.B. Ringing door bells.C. Throwing bits of corn on the window panes.D. Dressing up in the best holiday clothes.8. Which of the following is not used in

19、the Halloween celebration?A. PumpkinB. CandleC. CostumeD. Flower9.Why do the children collect money in the Halloween?A. They love money.B. They want to get enough money to buy themselves candy.C. The adults are willing to give them money.D. They want to help other children.10. What is the symbol of

20、Halloween?A. Pumpkin.B. Candle.C. LaughterD. Money.Passage 3Internationalairlineshave rediscoveredthe business travelers, the man orwoman whoregularly jets fromcountry to country as partof the job. This does not necessarily mean thatairlines ever abandoned their business travelers.Indeed, companies

21、like Lufthansaand Swissairwouldrightlyargue that they have alwayscatered best for the executive class passengers. Butmanylines couldbe accused of concentratingtoo heavily in the recentpast on attractingpassengers by volume,often at the expense ofregular travelers. Too often,theyhave seemedgeared for

22、 quantity rather than quality.Operating a major airline in the 1980s is essentially a.精品文檔matter of finding the rightmix of passengers. The airlines need to fill up the back end of theirwide-bodied jets with low fare passengers, without forgetting that the front end should be filledwith people who p

23、ay substantially more for their tickets.It is no coincidence that the twomajor airline bankruptcies in 1982were among thecompanies specializingin cheap flights.But low fares requireconsistently fullaircraftto makeflights economically viable, and in therecent recession thevolume of traffichas notgrow

24、n.Equally the large number of airlines jostling for the available passengers has created a huge excess of capacity. The net result of excess capacity and cut-throat competition driving down fares has been to push some airlines into collapse and leave many others hovering on the brink.Against this gr

25、im background, it is no surprise that airlines are turning increasingly towardsthe business travelers to improve their rates of return. They have invested much time and effort to establish exactly what the executive demands for sitting apart from the tourists.High on the list of prioritiesis punctua

26、lity;an executive's time is money.In-flightservice is another area where the airlines are jostling for the executive's attention. The free drinks and headsets and better food are all part of the lure.11. One criticism against many international airlines is that they have, in the recent past,

27、 .A. catered for the more wealthy peopleB. given preferential treatment to executive clientsC. only met the needs of the regular travelerD. marketed their service with the masses in mind12. With the intention of attracting a somewhat different type of passenger, the airlines have now begun to concen

28、trate on .A. ensuring that the facilities offered to the executive are indeed superior B. providing facilities enabling business travelers to work on boardC. organizing activities in which first-class passengers can participateD. installing sleeping compartments where more privacy is ensured 13. Fro

29、m the passage we can infer that .A. a successful airline in the 1980s meets the needs not only of the masses but also of the wealthy passengersB. it is more comfortable to sit in the back of jet planesC. business travelers dislike touristsD. only by specializing in cheap flights can airlines avoid b

30、ankruptcy.14. In Paragraph 5.-flight“service"in means .A. Service on the planeB. A new safety deviceC. Flights within one countryD. Charge-free air service15. The following are all used to attract passengers except .A. punctualityB. sound systemC. free drinksD. charge-free foodPassage 4In only

31、two decades Asian-American have become the fastest-growing US minority. As their children began moving up through the nation's schools, it became clear that a new class of academic achievers was emerging. Their achievements are reflected in the nation's best universities, where mathematics,

32、science and engineering departments have taken on a decidedly Asian character. (This special liking for mathematics and science is partly explained by the factthat Asian-American students who began their education abroad arrived in the U.S. with a solid grounding in mathematics but little or no know

33、ledge of English.) They are also influenced by the promise of a good job after college. Asians feel there will be less unfair treatment in areas like mathematics and science because they will be judged more immediate in something like.精品文檔engineering than with an arts degree.Most Asian-American stud

34、ents owe their success to the influence of parents who are determined that their children take full advantage of what the American educational system has to offer. An effective measure of parental attention is homework. Asian parents spend more time with their children than American parents do, and

35、it helps. Many researchers also believe there is something in Asian culture that breeds success, such as ideals that stress family values and emphasize education.Both explanations for academic success worry Asian-Americans because of fears that they feed a typical racial image. Many can remember whe

36、n Chinese, Japanese and Filipino immigrants were the victims of social isolation. Indeed, it was not until 1952 that laws were laid down giving all Asian immigrants the right to citizenship.16. While making tremendous achievements at college, Asian-American students . A. feel they are mistreated bec

37、ause of limited knowledge of English.B. are afraid that their academic successes bear a strong Asian character C. still worry about unfair treatment in societyD. generally feel it a shame to have to depend on their parents17. What are the major factors that determine the success of Asian-Americans?A

38、. A solid foundation in basic mathematics and Asian culture.B. Hard work and intelligence.C. Hard help and a limited knowledge of EnglishD. Asian culture and the American educational system.18. Few Asian-American students major in human sciences mainly because . A. their English is not good enough.B

39、. they are afraid they might meet with unfair judgment in these areasC. there is a wide difference between Asian and Western cultures D. they know little about American culture and society19. Why do the two“ explanations" (Para. 3, Line 1) worry Asian-Americans?A. They are afraid that they woul

40、d again be isolated from American society in general.B. People would think that Asian students rely on their parents for success.C. Asian-Americans would be a threat to other minorities.D. American academic achievements have taken on too strong at Asian character.20. The author's tone in this pa

41、ssage is .A. sympatheticB. doubtfulC. criticalD. objectiveassage 1Mrs. Lester kept on asking her husband to take her to the ballet. Mr. Lester hates the ballet, but when his employer invited him and his wife, he could not get out of it. As they drove to the theatre that evening, the fog got worse an

42、d worse. The traffic slowed down to a walking pace and almost stopped. When they eventually got to the theatre, the ballet was over. Mrs. Lester could not work out how it had taken them so long to get there, even taking the fog into account. The theatre was within walking distance of their house. It

43、 took her a long time to get over the disappointment.A month later, Mrs. Lester found out what had happened. Mr.Lester told a friend of his that he had taken wrong turning on purpose. This friend told his wife, and the wife immediately went around to tell Mrs. Lester. The two women began to plan a r

44、evenge. One day, when Mr. Lester was not in, they broke into his study, which he always locked. His hobby was collecting old coins. Mrs. Lester had already worked out how much his collection was worth:$850!They were taking some.精品文檔coins out of the case when they heard a car pull up outside the hous

45、e. Mrs. Lester quickly switched the light off, and they waited, holding their breath. The front door opened and Mr. Lester came in. They heard him take hisc oat off. He walked towards the study door and opened it. There was no chance for the women to get away without being seen. Mr. Lester switched

46、the light on and was astounded to see his wife standing there with a handful of valuable coins. It took both husband and wife a long time to get over this.1. Which of the following is correct?A. Mr. Lester likes to watch ballet.B. Mrs. Lester likes to watch ballet.C. Both of them like to watch balle

47、tD. Neither of them likes to watch ballet.2.It was quite when they drove to the theatre.A. rainyB. stormyC. cloudyD. foggy3.The theater is from Mr. and Mrs. Lester's.A. an hour-drivingB. in the other side of the city C. very nearD. half an hour of bicycle riding4.The wife of Mr. Lester's fri

48、end is a .A. social workerB. house cleanerC. baby sitter D. gossip5.How many persons are mentioned in this story?A. ThreeB. FourC. Five D. Six.Passage 2The motor vehicle has killed and disabled more people in its brief history than any bomb or weapon ever invented. Much of the blood on the street fl

49、ows essentially from uncivil behavior of drivers who refuse to respect the legal and moral rights of others. So the massacre on the road may be regarded as a social problem.In fact, the enemies of society on wheels are rather harmless people just ordinary people acting carelessly, you might say. But

50、 it is a principle both of law and common morality that carelessness is no excuse when one's actions could bring death or damage to others. A minority of the killers go even beyond carelessness to total negligence.Researchers have estimated that as many as 80 per cent of all automobile accidents

51、 can be attributed to the psychological condition of the driver. Emotional upsets can distort drivers' reactions, slow their judgement, and blind them to dangers that might otherwise be evident. The experts warn that it is vital for every driver to make a conscious effort to keep one's emoti

52、ons under control.Yet the irresponsibility that accounts for much of the problem is not confined to drivers. Street walkers regularly violate traffic regulations, they are at fault in most vehicle walker accidents; and many cyclists even believe that they are not subject to the basic rules of the ro

53、ad.Significant legal advances have been made towards safer driving in the past few years. Safety standards for vehicle have been raised both at the point of manufacture and through periodic road-worthiness inspections. In addition, speed limits have been lowered. Due to these measures, the accident

54、rate has decreased. But the accident experts still worry because there has been little or no improvement in the way drivers behave. The only real and lasting solution, say the experts, isto convince people that driving is a skilled task requiring constant care and concentration. Those who fail to do

55、 all these things present a threat to those with whom they share the road.6. What is the author's main purpose in writing the passage?A. To show that the motor vehicle is a very dangerous invention.B. To promote understanding between careless drivers and street walkers.精品文檔C. To discuss traffic

56、problems and propose possible solutions.D. To warn drivers of the importance of safe driving.7. According to the passage, traffic accidents may be regarded as a social problem because .A. autos have become most destructive to mankindB. people usually pay little attention to law and moralityC. civili

57、zation brings much harm to peopleD. the lack of virtue is becoming more severe8. Why does the author mention the psychological condition of the driver in Paragraph Three? A. To give an example of the various reasons for road accidents.B. To show how important it is for drivers to be emotionally healthy. C. To show some of the inaccurate estimations by researchers.D. To illustrate the hidden tensions in the course of driv