2014.12-英語四級(jí)考試真題試卷(第三套)閱讀

2014.12-英語四級(jí)考試真題試卷（第三套）閱讀SectionBDiiections：Jktthissectionyyouare.goingtoreadapass呼iuithtenstatctiicnkafiff^icdtoiLEcu*statcriKntiontfuns泊fbr?*iHow辯由iinorwQfi)Kptim即砌皓,Eentify掘parngiaphfiQmwhich曲e口叱網(wǎng)升陽核廳iis-derwed.Youwwyriiooseapma^ra^kntorc幀uwonce.HicHp砒嗯哂ismarkedujiftialetterAnswer由cquestions&y刖南Hg由cayrrcspcmdmgletteroriAnswerSFrcef2GrowingUpColoredYouwouldn'tknowPiedmontanymore-myPiedmont,Imean-thetowninWestVirginiawhereIlearnedtobeacoloredboy.The1950sinPiedmontwasatimetoremember,oratleasttome.PeoplewerealwaysproudtobefromPiedmont-lyingatthefootofamountain,onthebanksofthemightyPotomac.WeknewGodgaveAmericanomorebeautifullocation.Ineverknewcoloredpeopleanywherewhowerecrazieraboutmountainsandwater,flowersandtrees,fishingandhunting.Foraslongasanyonecouldremember,wecouldouthunt,outshoot,andoutswimthewhiteboysinthevalley.[C]ThesocialstructureofPiedmontwassomethingweknewlikethebackofourhands.Itwasanimmigranttown;whitePiedmontwasItalianandIrish,withahandfulofwealthyWASPs（盎格魯撒克遜裔的白人新教徒）onEastHampshireStreet,and"ethnic"neighborhoodsofworking-classpeopleeverywhereelse,coloredandwhite.Foraslongasanyonecanremember,Piedmont'scharacterhasbeencompletelyboundupwiththeWestvacopapermill:itsprosperouspastanddoubtfulfuture.Atfirstglance,thetownisatypicaldyingmillcenter.Manyoncebeautifulbuildingsstandempty,evidencingabygonetimeofspiritandpride.ThebighousesonEastHampshireStreetarenolongerproud,astheywerewhenI…wasakid.LiketheItaliansandtheIrish,mostofthecoloredpeoplemigratedtoPiedmontattheturnofthe20thcenturytoworkatthepapermill,whichopenedin1888.Allthecoloredmenatthepapermillworkedon"theplatform”-loadingpaperintotrucksuntilthecraftunionswerefinallyintegratedin1968.LoadingiswhatDaddydideveryworkingdayofhislife.That'swhatalmosteverycoloredgrown-upIknewdid.Coloredpeoplelivedinthreeneighborhoodsthatwereclearlyseparated.WelcometotheColoredZone,alargestretchedbannercouldhavesaid.Anditfeltgoodinthere,likewalkingaroundyourhouseinbarefeetandunderwear,orsnoringrightoutloudonthecouchinfrontoftheTV-envelopedbythecomfortsofhome,thewarmthofthoseyoulove.Ofcourse,thecoloredworldwasnotsomuchaneighborhoodasaconditionofexistence.Andthoughourownworldwasseeminglyself-contained,itimpactedonthewhiteworldofPiedmontinalmosteverydirection.Certainly,thebordersofourworldseemedtobeimpactedonwhensomewhitemanorwomanshowedupwhereheorshedidnotbelong,suchasattheblackLegionHall.Ourspacewasviolatedwhenoneofthemshowedupatadanceoraparty.Therhythmswouldbeoff.Themusicwouldsoundnotquiteright:attemptstopatthebeatoffjustso.Everybodywouldleaveearly.Before1955,mostwhitepeoplewerejustshadowypresencesinourworld,vaguefiguresofpowerlikeremotebossesatthemillortellersatthebank.Therewereexceptions,ofcourse,thewhitepeoplewhowouldcomeintoourworldinritualized,everydaywaysweallunderstood.Mr.MailMan,Mr.InsuranceMan,Mr.White-and-ChocolateMilkMan,Mr.LandlordMan,Mr.PoliceMan:wecalledwhitepeoplebytheirtrade,likecharactersinamysteryplay.Mr.InsuranceManwouldcomebyeveryotherweektocollectpremiumsoncollegeordeathpolicies,sometimes50centsorless."It'snodisgracetobecolored,"theblackentertainerBertWilliamsfamouslyobservedearlyinthecentury,"butitisawfullyinconvenient."Formostofmychildhood,wecouldn'tcatinrestaurantsorsleepinhotels,wecouldn'tusecertainbathroomsortryonclothesinstores.Mamainsistedthatwedressupwhenwewenttoshop.Shewascarefullydressedwhenshewenttoclothingstores,andworewhitepadscalledshieldsunderherarmssoherdressorblousewouldshownosweat."We'dliketotrythison,"she'dsaycarefully,utteringherwordspreciselyandproperly."Wedon'tbuyclotheswecan'ttryon,"she'dsaywhentheydeclined,andwe'dwalkoutinMama'sdignified（有尊嚴(yán)的）manner.Shepreferredtoshopwherewehadanaccountandwhereeveryoneknewwhoshewas.AttheCut-RateDrugStore,noonecoloredwasallowedtositdownatthecounterortables,withoneexception:myfather.Idon'tknowforcertainwhyCarlDadisman,theowner,wouldn'tstopDaddyfromsittingdown.ButIbelieveitwasinpartbecauseDaddywassolight-colored,andinpartbecause,duringhisshiftatthephonecompany,hepickedupordersforfoodandcoffeefortheoperators.Coloredpeopleweresupposedtostandatthecounter,gettheirfoodtogo,andleave.EvenwhenYoungDocBesswouldsetupthebasketballteamwithfreeCokesafteroneofmanyvictories,thecoloredplayershadtostandaroundanddrinkoutofpapercupswhilethewhiteplayersandcheerleaderssatdownincomfortablechairsanddrankoutofglasses.Icouldn'thavebeenmucholderthanfiveorsixasIsatwithmyfatherattheCut-Rateoneafternoon,enjoyingtwoscoopsofcaramelicecream.Mr.Wilson,astony-faced,broodingIrishman,walkedby."Hello,Mr.Wilson,"myfathersaid."Hello,George."Iwasgenuinelypuzzled.Mr.Wilsonmusthaveconfusedmyfatherwithsomebodyelse,butwho?Thereweren'tanyGeorgesamongthecoloredpeopleinPiedmont."Whydon'tyoutellhimyourname,Daddy?"Iaskedloudly."Yournameisn'tGeorge.""Heknowsmyname,boy,"myfathersaidafteralongpause."HecallsallcoloredpeopleGeorge."Iknewwewouldn'ttalkaboutitagain;evenatthatage,1wasgiventounderstandthatthereweresomesubjectsitdidn'tdotoworrytodeathabout.NowthatIhavechildren,Irealizethatwhatdistressedmyfatherwasn'tsomuchtheMr.Wilsonsoftheworldasthepainfulobligationtoexplaintheracialfactsoflifetosomeonewhohadn'tquitelearnedthemyet.MaybeMr.Wilsoncouldn'thurtmyfatherbycallinghimGeorge;butIhurthimbyaskingtoknowwhy.注意：此部分試題請?jiān)诖痤}卡2上作答。Theauthorfeltasaboythathislifeinaseparatedneighborhoodwascasualandcozy.Thereiseverysignofdeclineatthepapermillnow.Onereasontheauthor'sfathercouldsitandeatatthedrugstorewasthathedidn'tlookthatdark.Piedmontwasatownofimmigrantsfromdifferentpartsoftheworld.Inspiteoftheawfulinconveniencescausedbyracialprejudice,theauthor'sfamilymanagedtolivealifeofdignity.Theauthorlaterrealizedhehadcausedgreatdistresstohisfatherbyaskingwhyhewaswronglyaddressed.TheauthortookprideinbeingfromPiedmontbecauseofitsnaturalbeauty.Coloredpeoplecalledwhitepeoplebythebusinesstheydid.ColoredpeoplewholivedinPiedmontdidheavymanualjobsatthepapermill.Thecoloredpeoplefeltuneasyatthepresenceofthewhitesintheirneighborhood.【參考答案】46-55：fdjciMBHEGSectionCDiiectians：Therearc2passagesinthissection.Eachpassageis河皿城如5Gmequestionsorttnfiiiislietisfr?fcjjKJi/s.ForeachofS^KHtthererifefourdini^esmarkedAJfE\QattdD).Youslimtlddecideonthstestchoicearidwwrrft樣比forrcs^oriduigletteronAnswerSheet2印i砂ashigtcUnethroughtfecentre.PassageOneQuestions56to60arebasedonthefollowingpassage.Childrenareadelight.Theyareourfuture.Butsadly,hiringsomeonetotakecareofthemwhileyougotoworkisgettingmoreexpensivebytheyear.Earlierthismonth,itwasreportedthatthecostofenrollinganinfantorsmallkidatachildcarecenterrose3%in2012,fasterthantheoverallcostofliving.Therearenowlargestripsofthecountrywheredaycareforaninfantcostsmorethanatenthoftheaveragemarriedcouple'sincome.Thisisnotnecessarilyanewtrend,butitisasomewhatpuzzlingone.Thepriceofprofessionalchildcarehasbeenrisingsincethe1980s.Yetduringthattime,payforprofessionalchildcareworkershasstoodstill.Actuallycaregiversmakelesstoday,inrealterms,thantheydidin1990.Consideringthatlaborcostsareresponsibleforupto80%ofadaycarecenter'sexpenses,onewouldexpectflatwagestohavemeantflatprices.Sowho'stoblameforhigherchildcarecosts?Childcareisacarefullyregulatedindustry.Stateslaydownrulesabouthowmanychildreneachemployeeisallowedtowatchover,thespacecarecentersneedperchild,andotherminutedetails.Andthestrictertheregulations,thehigherthecosts.Ifithastohireacaregiverforeverytwochildren,itcan'treallyachieveanyeconomiesofscaleonlabortosavemoneywhenotherexpensesgoup.In

Massachusetts,wherechildcarecentersmusthireoneteacherforeverythreeinfants,thepriceofcareaveragedmorethan$16,000peryear.InMississippi,wherecentersmusthireoneteacherforeveryfiveinfants,thepriceofcareaveragedlessthan$5,000.Unfortunately,Idon'thaveallthedaycare-centerregulationshandy.ButIwouldn'tbesurprisedifastheruleshavebecomemoreelaborate,priceshaverisen.Thetradeoff（交換）mightbeworthitinsomecases;afterall,thehealthandsafetyofchildrenshouldprobablycomebeforecheapservice.Butcertainly,itdoesn'tseemtobeanaccidentthatsomeofthecheapestdaycareavailableisintheleastregulatedSouththeleastregulatedSouthWhatproblemdoparentsofsmallkidshavetoface?Theever-risingchildcareprices.Thebudgetingoffamilyexpenses.Thebalancebetweenworkandfamily.Theselectionofagooddaycarecenter.Whatdoestheauthorfeelpuzzledabout?Whythepricesofchildcarevarygreatlyfromstatetostate.Whyincreasedchildcarepriceshavenotledtobetterservice.Whychildcareworkers'payhasnotincreasedwiththerisingchildcarecosts.Whythereisasevereshortageofchildcareprofessionalinanumberofstates.Whatpreventchildcarecentersfromsavingmoney?Steadyincreaseinlaborcosts.Strictgovernmentregulations.Lackofsupportfromthestate.Highadministrativeexpenses.WhyistheaveragecostofchildcareinMississippimuchlowerthaninMassachusetts?Theoverallqualityofserviceisnotasgood.Paymentsforcaregiverstherearenotashigh.Livingexpensestherearecomparativelylow.Eachteacherisallowedtocareformorekids.Whatistheauthor'sviewondaycareservice?Caregiversshouldreceiveregularprofessionaltraining.Lesselaboraterulesaboutchildcaremightlowercosts.Itiscrucialtostrikeabalancebetweenqualityandcosts.Itisbetterfordifferentstatestolearnfromeachother.PassageTwoQuestions61to65arebasedonthefollowingpassage.AlexPang'samusingnewbookTheDistractionAddictionaddressesthoseofuswhofeelpanicwithoutacellphoneorcomputer.Andthat,heclaims,isprettymuchallofus.Whenwe'renotonline,wherewespendfourmonthsannually,we'reengagedinthestressfulworkoftryingtogetonline.TheDistractionAddictionisnotframedasaself-helpbook.It'sathoughtfulexaminationofthedangerofourcomputingoverdoseandahistoricaloverviewofhowtechnologicaladvanceschangeconsciousness.A"professionalfuturist",Pangurgesanapproachwhichhecalls"contemplative（沉思的）computing."Heasksthatyoupayfullattentionto"howyourmindandbodyinteractwithcomputersandhowyourattentionandcreativityareinfluencedbytechnology."Pang'sfirstjobistofreeyoufromcommonmisconceptionthatdoingtwothingsatonceallowsyoutogetmoredone.Whatiscommonlycalledmultitaskingis,infact,switch-tasking,anditsharmfuleffectsonproductivityarewelldocumented.Pangdoesn'tadvocatereturningtoapreinternetworld.Instead,heasksyouto"takeamoreecological（生態(tài)的）viewofyourrelationshipswithtechnologiesandlookforwaysdevicesormediamaybemakingspecifictaskseasierorfasterbutatthesametimemakingyourworkandlifeharder."TheDistractionAddictionisparticularlyfascinatingonhowtechnologieshavechangedcertainfieldoflabor—oftenfortheworse.Forarchitects,computer-aideddesignhasbecomeessentialbutinsomewayshascheapenedthedesignprocess.Asonearchitectputsit,"Architectureisfirstandforemostaboutthinking...anddrawingisamoreproductivewayofthinking"thancomputer-aideddesign.SomewhatlessamusingarePang'ssolutionsforkickingtheInternethabit.Herecommendstheusualbehavior-modificationapproaches,familiartoanyonewhohascompletedaquit-smokingprogram.Keeplogstostudyyouronlineprofileanddecidewhatyoucanknockout,download