2015英语专四模拟题（1）

　　PART Ⅴ READING COMPREHENSION (25 MIN)

　　82、根据以下资料，回答82-101题：

　　What accounts for the great outburst of major inventions in early America-breakthroughs such as the telegraph, the steamboat and the weaving machine?

　　Among the many shaping factors, I would single out the country's excellent elementary schools; a labor force that welcomed the new technology; the practice of giving premiums to inventors; and above all the American genius for nonverbal, "spatial" thinking about things technological.

　　Why mention the elementary schools? Because thanks to these schools our early mechanics, specially in the New England and Middle Atlantic states, were generally literate and at horn, in arithmetic and in some aspects of geometry and trigonometry.

　　Acute foreign observers related American adaptiveness and inventiveness to this educational advantage. As a member of a British commission visiting here in 1853 reported, "With a mind prepared by thorough school discipline, the American boy develops rapidly into the skilled workman."

　　A further stimulus to invention came from the "premium" system, which preceded our patent system and for years ran parallel with it.This approach, originated abroad, offered inventors medals, cash prizes and other incentives.In the United States, multitudes of premiums for new devices were awarded at country fairs and at the industrial fairs in major cities.Americans flocked to these fairs to admire the new machines and thus to renew their faith in the beneficence of technological advance.

　　Given this optimistic approach to technological innovation, American workers took readily to that special kind of nonverbal thinking required in mechanical technology.As Eugene Ferguson has pointed out, "A technologist thinks about objects that cannot be reduced to unambiguous verbal descriptions; they are dealt with in his mind by a visual, nonverbal process...The designer and the inventor...are able to assemble and manipulate in their minds devices that as yet do not exist."

　　This nonverbal "spatial" thinking can be just as creative as painting and writing.Robert Fulton once wrote, "The mechanic should sit down among levers, screws, wedges, wheels, etc.like a poet among the letters of the alphabet, considering them as an exhibition of his thoughts, in which a new arrangement transmits a new idea."

　　When all these shaping forces---schools, open attitudes, the premium system, a genius for spatial thinking--interacted with one another on the rich U.S.mainland, they produced that American characteristic, emulation.Today that word implies mere imitation.But in earlier times it meant a friendly but competitive striving for fame and excellence.

　　According to the author, the great outburst of major inventions in early America was in a large part due to

　　A.a special way of thinking

　　B.enthusiastic workers

　　C.the attractive premium system

　　D.elementary school

　　83、Which of the following statements about early American mechanics is TRUE?

　　A.They had received privileged home training.

　　B.They contributed to disciplined school management.

　　C.They are the result of technological development.

　　D.They benefited a lot from their mathematical knowledge.

　　84、According to the passage, the premium system __

　　A.was an American invention

　　B.appeared before the patent system

　　C.is as important as the patent system

　　D.is supported by the federal government

　　85、A technologist can be compared to an artist because they both_______.

　　A.use various instruments

　　B.abandon verbal description

　　C.arc experts in special thinking

　　D.are winners of awards

　　86、The best title for this passage might be_____.

　　A.Inventive Mind

　　B.Effective Schooling

　　C.Ways of Thinking

　　D.Technological Advance

　　87、根据以下资料，回答87-106题：

　　If winning is everything, British anthropologists have some advice: Wear red.Their survey of four sports at the2004 Olympic Games in Athens shows competitors were more likely to win their contests if they wore red uniforms or red body armor. "Across a range of sports, we find that wearing red is consistently associated with a higher probability of winning," report Russell A.Hill and Robert A.Barton of the University of Durham in England.Their findings are in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature.

　　Red coloration is associated with aggression in many animals.Often it is sexually selected so that scarlet markings signal male dominance.Just think of the red stripes on the scowling face of the male Mandrill, Africa's largest monkey species.But red is not exclusively a male trait.It's the female black widow spider that is venomous sand displays a menacing red dot on her abdomen.

　　Similarly, the color's effect also may subconsciously intimidate opponents in athletic contests, especially when the athletes are equal in skill and strength, the researchers suggest.In their survey, the anthropologists analyzed the results of four combat sports at the summer games: boxing, tae kwon do, Greco-Roman wrestling and freestyle wrestling.In those events, the athletes were randomly assigned red protective gear and other sportswear.Athletes wearing red gear won more often in 16 of 21 rounds of competition in all four events.The effect was the same regardless of weight classes, too: 19 of 29 classes had more red winners, and only four rounds had more blue winners,

　　The red effect also might come into play in team sports.The anthropologists made a preliminary analysis of the Euro 2004 international soccer tournament, in which teams wore jerseys of different colors in different matches.They found that five teams scored more goals and won more often when they wore shirts that were predominantly red, as opposed to blue or white jerseys.

　　Scientists don't precisely know how wearing red might give athletes an advantage.But the color delivers implicit messages of vigor and danger.When people get angry, their faces turn red.It's also a reason why stop signs are red.So are most Ferraris.

　　Red color is associated with all of the following EXCEPT________.

　　A.controlling power of male Mandrills

　　B.greater chances of winning in sports

　　C.menacing characteristics of female back widow spiders

　　D.higher speed of automobiles

　　88、The word "intimidate" in Paragraph 3 is similar in meaning to________.

　　A.threaten

　　B.imitate

　　C.distract

　　D.confuse

　　89、Which of the following statements about red effect in sports is TRUE?

　　A.It works for athletic contest only.

　　B.It varies from different weight classes.

　　C.It exists in team sports.

　　D.It is not so obvious in other sports as in soccer.

　　90、Scientists are sure that the color red

　　A.encourages athletes to win

　　B.is a signal of vigor

　　C.is superior to the color blue

　　D.delivers messages, f mental advantage

　　91、根据以下资料，回答91-110题：

　　When Gina Garro and Brian Duplisea adopted 4-month-old Andres from Colombia last month (they also have a 6-year-old daughter), they were determined to take time off from work to care for him.Though Garro's $40,000salary will cover their mortgage, the couple will have to freeze their retirement accounts, and pray that nothing goes wrong with the car."It takes away from you your cushion and your security," says Garro."Things will be tight."

　　The 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act was supposed to help families like Garro's, offering a safety net to employees who want to take time off to nurture newborns, tend to their own major illnesses or care for sick relatives. But while the law guarantees that workers won't lose their jobs, it doesn't cover their paychecks.One survey last year showed that while 24 million Americans had taken leaves since 1999, 2.7 million more wanted to, but couldn't afford it.That may change soon.In response to increasing demand from voters, at least 25 states are now exploring new ways to offer paid leave.One possibility: tapping state disability funds.A handful of states--New York, New Jersey, California, Rhode Island and Hawaii--already dip into disability money to offer partial pay for women on maternity leave.But that doesn't help dads or people caring for elderly parents.New Jersey and New York may soon expand disability programs to cover leave for fathers and other caretakers.Thirteen states, including Arizona, Illinois and Florida, have proposed using unemployment fund to pay for leave.

　　Massachusetts has been especially creative.When the state's acting governor, Jane Swift, gave birth to twin daughters in May, she drew attention to the issue with her own "working maternity leave": she telecommuted part-time but earned her usual full-time salary.Even before Swift returned to work last week, the state Senate unanimously passed a pilot plan that would use surplus funds from a health -insurance program for the unemployed to give new parents 12 weeks off at half pay.Another plan, proposed in the House, would require employers to kick in $20 per worker to set up a "New Families Trust Fund.".Businesses would get tax credits in return.This week Swift is expected to announce her own paid-leave plan for lower-income mothers and fathers.Polls show widespread public support--another reason Swift and other politicians across the, country have embraced the issue.

　　Still, not everyone's wild about the idea.People without children question wh y new parents--the first group to get paid leave under many of the proposed plans--should get more government perks than they do.Business groups are resistant to proposals that would raid unemployment funds; several have; already filed suit to block them.As the economy slows, many companies say they can't afford to contribute to proposed new benefit funds either.Business lobbyists say too many employees already abuse existing federal family, leave laws by taking time off for dubious reasons or in tiny time increments.The proposed laws, they say, would on y make matters worse.

　　For Garro and Duplisea, though, the new laws could make all the difference.As Melina fixes a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich, Duplisea hugs a snoozing Andres against his T-shirt "We're trying to do the right thing by two kids, and we have to sacrifice," Duplisea says.In Massachusetts and plenty of other states, help maybe on the way.

　　From the first paragraph, we learn that____.

　　A.the couple have made a lot of sacrifices to take care of their children

　　B.Garro can earn more money so she should go back to work

　　C.Duplisea's boss is so considerate as to allow him to keep his job

　　D.Garro and Duplisea used to live a comfortable and easy life

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