专家解析大学英语四级历年阅读真题(十三)

　　Passage One

　　Questions 11 to 15 are based on the following passage.

　　A is for always getting to work on time.

　　B is for being extremely busy.

　　C is for the conscientious (勤勤恳恳的) way you do your job.

　　You may be all these things at the office, and more. But when it comes to getting ahead, experts say, the ABCs of business should include a P, for politics, as in office politics.

　　Dale Carnegie suggested as much more than 50 years ago: Hard work alone doesn’t ensure career advancement. You have to be able to sell yourself and your ideas, both publicly and behind the scenes. Yet, despite the obvious rewards of engaging in office politics―a better job, a raise, praise―many people are still unable―or unwilling―to “play the game.”

　　“People assume that office politics involves some manipulative (工于心计的) behavior,” says Deborah Comer, an assistant professor of management at Hofstra University. “But politics derives from the word ‘polite’. It can mean lobbying and forming associations. It can mean being kind and helpful, or even trying to please your superior, and then expecting something in return.”

　　In fact, today, experts define office politics as proper behavior used to pursue one’s own self-interest in the workplace. In many cases, this involves some form Of Socializing within the office environment―not just in large companies, but in small workplaces as well.

　　“The first thing people are usually judged on is their ability to perform well on a consistent basis,’” says Neil P Lewis, a management psychologist. “But if two or three candidates are up for a promotion, each of whom has reasonably similar ability, a manager is going to promote the person he or she likes best. It’s simple human nature.”

　　Yet, psychologists say, many employees and employers have trouble with the concept of politics in the office. Some people, they say, have an idealistic vision of work and what it takes to succeed. Still others associate politics with flattery (奉承), fearful that, if they speak up for themselves, they may appear to be flattering their boss for favors.

　　Experts suggest altering this negative picture by recognizing the need for some self-promotion.

　　11. “Office politics” (Line 2, Para. 4) is used in the passage to refer to ________.

　　A) the code of behavior for company staff

　　B) the political views and beliefs of office workers

　　C) the interpersonal relationships within a company

　　D) the various qualities required for a successful career(C)

　　12. To get promoted, one must not only be competent but ________.

　　A) give his boss a good impression

　　B) honest and loyal to his company

　　C) get along well with his colleagues

　　D) avoid being too outstanding(D)

　　13. Why are many people unwilling to “play the game” (Line 4, Para. 5)?

　　A) They believe that doing so is impractical.

　　B) They feel that such behavior is unprincipled.

　　C) They are not good at manipulating colleagues.

　　D) They think the effort will get them nowhere.(B)

　　14. The author considers office politics to be ________.

　　A) unwelcome at the workplace

　　B) bad for interpersonal relationships

　　C) indispensable to the development of company culture

　　D) an important factor for personal advancement(D)

　　15. It is the author’s view that ________.

　　A) speaking up for oneself is part of human nature

　　B) self-promotion does not necessarily mean flattery

　　C) hard work contributes very little to one’s promotion

　　D) many employees fail to recognize the need of flattery(B)

　　这篇材料的主要内容是办公室政治(office politics)，从介绍办公室政治的含义、好处开始，讲到现实生活中人们不愿进行办公室政治的现象及其原因，最后给出了改变这种情况的建议。

　　前面的几段主要是介绍办公室政治的含义及其所能带来的好处。前三个句子以A、B、C打头列出了办公室生存的基本原则，而后把办公室政治作为它们的补充自然地提了出来(为了与ABC相搭配，简称为P)。作者引用Carnegie的话对办公室政治做了初步的定义，也就是be able to sell yourself and your ideas, both publicly and behind the scenes，无论公开非公开场合，都要能够推销你自己和你自己的想法。后面紧接着的一句话一箭双雕，既说出了办公室政治的好处(a better job, a raise, praise)，也指出人们不愿搞办公室政治的事实，为下文分析原因、提出建议铺好了道路。

　　后面的几段主要是来分析办公室政治在一些人那里不受欢迎的原因。首先人们把它看做是工于心计的行为(manipulative behavior)，而后作者对这一原因做了评析，指出办公室政治实际上并不如此(反而源于polite，礼貌)。下一段介绍专家的观点，进一步解释办公室政治的含义和应用的正当性，而后引用Neil P Lewis的话对此做了强调(It’s simple human nature，办公室政治是人类的天性而已)。

　　最后一段简单地给出了建议：承认自我的推销的需要(recognizing the need for some self-promotion)。

　　Passage Two

　　Questions 16 to 20 are based on the following passage.

　　As soon as it was revealed that a reporter for Progressive magazine had discovered how to make a hydrogen bomb, a group of firearm (火器) fans formed the National Hydrogen Bomb Association, and they are now lobbying against any legislation to stop Americans from owning one.

　　“The Constitution,” said the association’s spokesman, “gives everyone the right to own arms. It doesn’t spell out what kind of arms. But since anyone can now make a hydrogen bomb, the public should be able to buy it to protect themselves.”

　　“Don’t you think it’s dangerous to have one in the house, particularly where there are children around?”

　　“The National Hydrogen Bomb Association hopes to educate people in the safe handling of this type of weapon. We are instructing owners to keep the bomb in a locked cabinet and the fuse (导火索) separately in a drawer.”

　　“Some people consider the hydrogen bomb a very fatal weapon which could kill somebody.”

　　The spokesman said, “Hydrogen bombs don’t kill people―people kill people. The bomb is for self-protection and it also has a deterrent effect. If somebody knows you have a nuclear weapon in your house, they’re going to think twice about breaking in.”

#P#

　　“But those who want to ban the bomb for American citizens claim that if you have one locked in the cabinet, with the fuse in a drawer, you would never be able to assemble it in time to stop an intruder (侵入者).”

　　“Another argument against allowing people to own a bomb is that at the moment it is very expensive to build one. So what your association is backing is a program which would allow the middle and upper classes to acquire a bomb while poor people will be left defenseless with just handguns.”

　　16. According to the passage, some people started a national association so as to ________.

　　A) block any legislation to ban the private possession of the bomb

　　B) coordinate the mass production of the destructive weapon

　　C) instruct people how to keep the bomb safe at home

　　D) promote the large-scale sale of this newly invented weapon(A)

　　17. Some people oppose the ownership of H-bombs by individuals on the grounds that ________.

　　A) the size of the bomb makes it difficult to keep in a drawer

　　B) most people don’t know how to handle the weapon

　　C) people’s lives will be threatened by the weapon

　　D) they may fall into the hands of criminals(C)

　　18. By saying that the bomb also has a deterrent effect the spokesman means that it ________.

　　A) will frighten away any possible intruders

　　B) can show the special status of its owners

　　C) will threaten the safety of the owners as well

　　D) can kill those entering others’ houses by force(A)

　　19. According to the passage, opponents of the private ownership of H-bombs are very much worried that ________.

　　A) the influence of the association is too powerful for the less privileged to overcome

　　B) poorly-educated Americans will find it difficult to make use of the weapon

　　C) the wide use of the weapon will push up living expenses tremendously

　　D) the cost of the weapon will put citizens on an unequal basis(D)

　　20. From the tone of the passage we know that the author is ________.

　　A) doubtful about the necessity of keeping H-bombs at home for safety

　　B) unhappy with those who vote against the ownership of H-bombs

　　C) not serious about the private ownership of H-bombs

　　D) concerned about the spread of nuclear weapons(A)

　　这篇文章讲的是全国氢弹协会(National Hydrogen Bomb Association)的成立及相关的争论。第一段主要介绍事件的发生：全国氢弹协会的成立以及该协会目前着手的活动：游说不要立法禁止普通人拥有氢弹(lobbying against any legislation to stop Americans from owning one)。第二段，协会发言人搬出了宪法作为如此游说的理由(The Constitution gives everyone the right to own arms，宪法给了每个人拥有武器的权利)。

　　后面的几段用问答的形式，继续讨论人们是否应该拥有氢弹。首先是问在家中藏有这样的武器是否太危险了(it’s dangerous to have one in the house)，回答是该协会可以指导人们如何使用这种武器，并提出人们可以把氢弹弹体和导火索分开放置的方案(to keep the bomb in a locked cabinet and the fuse separately in a drawer)。

　　之后怀疑人们怎么可以拥有氢弹这种非常致命的武器。回答是氢弹制造的目的是用于自我保护(The bomb is for self-protection)，并举例说若家中藏有氢弹，则会吓阻非法闯入者(they’re going to think twice about breaking in)。

　　接下来的一段对上述理由提出了反驳：若有人侵入，则根本来不及把氢弹组装起来(never be able to assemble it in time to stop an intruder)。

　　最后一段是另一条反对意见：因为现在的氢弹价格昂贵，实际上它保护的对象只有富人(allow the middle and upper classes to acquire a bomb while poor people will be left defenseless with just handguns)。

　　16. According to the passage, some people started a national association so as to ________.

　　A) block any legislation to ban the private possession of the bomb

　　B) coordinate the mass production of the destructive weapon

　　C) instruct people how to keep the bomb safe at home

　　D) promote the large-scale sale of this newly invented weapon(A)

　　本题问从文中可以得知，一些人组织了一个国家协会，目的是什么。

　　A，阻止任何禁止私人拥有氢弹的立法。

　　B，配合这种破坏性武器的大规模生产。

　　C，指导人们如何安全地把氢弹藏于家中。

　　D，推广销售这种新发明的武器。

　　观察第一段，是一个很长的句子，可以判断以第一段的内容出一道题非常可能。这样这道题的答案只要到第一段中寻找就可以了。第一段前半部分讲的是该协会成立的缘由，与目的应该无关，那么就应该关注后半句。后半句讲的是该协会正在lobbying against any legislation to stop Americans from owning one，lobby是游说的意思，lobby against就是游说反对某事物，后面是“任何阻止美国人拥有氢弹的立法”。游说反对任何阻止美国人拥有氢弹的立法，意思与A一致，可以选A。

　　17. Some people oppose the ownership of H-bombs by individuals on the grounds that ________.

　　A) the size of the bomb makes it difficult to keep in a drawer

　　B) most people don’t know how to handle the weapon

　　C) people’s lives will be threatened by the weapon

　　D) they may fall into the hands of criminals(C)

　　题目问一些人反对个人拥有氢弹，其理由的基础在于……

　　看这道题的题目，似乎较为空泛，其答案好像要结合较多文章内容才能得出。但观察几个备选项，可知它们基本与文章里的第一个问答有关，可以判断答案就在第一个问答中。结合这个问答的内容对错误选项进行排除，最终就可找到正确的答案。

　　A，氢弹的大小使其很难放入抽屉中。提到drawer的是这一句：keep the bomb in a locked cabinet and the fuse separately in a drawer，这里讲的是如何保存氢弹：将弹体放在柜子里锁起来，把导火索放在抽屉里。理解了这个意思，就可知道A的说法是不正确的。

　　B，大多数人不知道如何操作这种武器。文章提到handle是这一句：educate people in the safe handling of this type of weapon，意思是协会希望指导人们如何安全地操作这种武器。这是一句答语，回答的问题是“把氢弹放在家里是否太危险了”，可见武器的危险性是反对拥有它的理由，而指导如何操作只是应对这种质疑的对策而已。所以B也不对。

　　C，人们的生活会受到这种武器的威胁。根据对C的分析可知，人们反对个人拥有氢弹是因为这种武器太过危险，可能会威胁自身，与C的意思一致。

　　D，他们可能会落入犯罪分子的手中。这一点文中没有提到，可以直接排除。

　　18. By saying that the bomb also has a deterrent effect the spokesman means that it ________.

　　A) will frighten away any possible intruders

　　B) can show the special status of its owners

　　C) will threaten the safety of the owners as well

　　D) can kill those entering others’ houses by force

　　题目问发言人所说的氢弹可以起到威慑效果是指氢弹……

　　文章提到deterrent effect(威慑效果)是在第二个问答中。问话者对氢弹的致命性表示了担忧(Some people consider the hydrogen bomb a very fatal weapon which could kill somebody)，而发言人认为氢弹本身不会杀人，人才会杀人(Hydrogen bombs don’t kill people―people kill people)，并指出氢弹是自卫武器(The bomb is for self-protection)，同时具有威慑效果。在此之后的句子是发言人举出的一个例子，用来说明什么是威慑效果。If somebody knows you have a nuclear weapon in your house, they’re going to think twice about breaking in――前半句很好理解：如果有人知道你的房子里有一件核武器。Think twice，思考两次，与汉语里的“思考再三”类似，表示人犹豫不决，考虑再三无法下定决心，在这里就是指闯入者犹豫不决，始终不敢进入有核武器的房子。这的确可以说是一种威慑效果。

#P#

　　19. According to the passage, opponents of the private ownership of H-bombs are very much worried that ________.

　　A) the influence of the association is too powerful for the less privileged to overcome

　　B) poorly-educated Americans will find it difficult to make use of the weapon

　　C) the wide use of the weapon will push up living expenses tremendously

　　D) the cost of the weapon will put citizens on an unequal basis(D)

　　本题问根据文意，反对私人拥有氢弹的人士非常担心什么。

　　反对私人拥有氢弹的人士所担心的东西很多，但考虑到本题是本篇的倒数第二道题，而且前面两个问答中提到的担忧均已经出过题目，所以这道题的答案肯定会在第二个问答以后的内容中。后面还有两种担忧的问题，第一个是来不及组装氢弹，结合题支可知与本题无关。第二个(最后一段)是穷人买不起氢弹，与题支所述的内容相关。最后一段共2个句子，第一句指出制造氢弹非常昂贵(very expensive to build one)，第二句以第一句为前提，进一步说明只有富人才买得起氢弹，穷人只能用手枪自卫。

　　A， 这一协会的影响过大，使特权较少的人无法抗拒。

　　B， 缺少教育的每个人将会发现使用这种武器非常困难。

　　C， 这种武器的广泛使用将会大幅度增加生活支出。

　　D， 这种武器的价格使公民站在了不平等的基础上。

　　可以看到A、B、C的说法在最后一段找不到任何类似内容。D所说的“价格使公民站在了不平等的基础上”中，价格应该就是指的氢弹的昂贵，使不平等应该是说富人买得起而穷人买不起，这符合上面的分析。应该选D。

　　20. From the tone of the passage we know that the author is ________.

　　A) doubtful about the necessity of keeping H-bombs at home for safety

　　B) unhappy with those who vote against the ownership of H-bombs

　　C) not serious about the private ownership of H-bombs

　　D) concerned about the spread of nuclear weapons(A)

　　本题问从这篇文章的叙述基调可知作者如何如何。

　　A，对出于安全因素而在家中存放氢弹的必要性表示怀疑。

　　B， 对那些投票反对个人拥有氢弹的人存有反感。

　　C，对私人拥有氢弹问题并不在乎。

　　D，忧心核武器的扩散。

　　从文章内容来看，作者实际上自始至终没有提出自己的观点，只是引用氢弹协会与反对者两方面的意见进行论述，要想从中看出作者的倾向比较困难。但内容本身还是能够传达出一些信号供我们分析。首先，在写作一篇关于氢弹协会的文章之始，在写作方向上可以有很多选择，如将其做为新生事物做正面介绍――这就暗示作者有支持氢弹协会的倾向(如此就可以选B);或者把此事作为新闻事件仅客观地加以叙述，写法类似于新闻报道(如此就可以选C)。但读完文章后可以发现，作者没有按照上述的写法写作，而是引入很多反对意见，以问答的形式介绍在该事件上的争论情况，这样就至少可以判断出作者的倾向不是支持氢弹协会的，否则就不会罗列如此之多的反对意见，来让读者了解到私人拥有氢弹的弊端。其次，可以发现作者罗列的反对意见是非常深入非常尖锐的，尤其是最后两段，对前面发言人的观点做了针锋相对的反驳，如果作者的态度是事不关己，相信不会如此和氢弹协会的人过不去。因此可以判断作者的态度大致是对私人拥有氢弹表示担心的。答案应该是A。

　　D的说法似乎也对，但应该注意D的用词，nuclear weapons用的是复数形式，那么这个词组就指的是破坏力极强的军事上使用的核武器，而不是家庭用的氢弹。如果指家庭用氢弹应该这么表述：the nuclear weapon，用the特指文章已经提到的氢弹，weapon用单数。

　　Passage Three

　　Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.

　　Sign has become a scientific hot button. Only in the past 20 years have specialists in language study realized that signed languages are unique―a speech of the hand. They offer a new way to probe how the brain generates and understands language, and throw new light on an old scientific controversy: whether language, complete with grammar, is something that we are born With, or whether it is a learned behavior. The current interest in sign language has roots in the pioneering work of one rebel teacher at Gallaudet University in Washington, D. C., the world’s only liberal arts university for deaf people.

　　When Bill Stokoe went to Gallaudet to teach English, the school enrolled him in a course in signing. But Stokoe noticed something odd: among themselves, students signed differently from his classroom teacher.

　　Stokoe had been taught a sort of gestural code, each movement of the hands representing a word in English. At the time, American Sign Language (ASL) was thought to be no more than a form of pidgin English (混杂英语). But Stokoe believed the “hand talk” his students used looked richer. He wondered: Might deaf people actually: have a genuine language? And could that language be unlike any other on Earth? It was 1955, when even deaf people dismissed their signing as “substandard”. Stokoe’s idea was academic heresy (异端邪说).

　　It is 37 years later. Stokoe―now devoting his time to writing and editing books and journals and to producing video materials on ASL and the deaf culture―is having lunch at a cafe near the Gallaudet campus and explaining how he started a revolution. For decades educators fought his idea that signed languages are natural languages like English, French and Japanese. They assumed language must be based on speech, the modulation (调节) of sound. But sign language is based on the movement of hands, the modulation of space. “What I said,” Stokoe explains, “is that language is not mouth stuff―it’s brain stuff.”

　　21. The study of sign language is thought to be ________.

　　A) a new way to look at the learning of language

　　B) a challenge to traditional, views on the nature of language

　　C) an approach: to simplifying the grammatical structure of a language

　　D) an attempt to clarify misunderstanding about the origin of language(C)

　　22. The, present growing interest in sign language was stimulated by ________.

　　A) a famous scholar in the study of the human brain

　　B) a leading specialist in the study of liberal arts

　　C) an English teacher in a university for the deaf

　　D) some senior experts in American Sign Language(C)

　　23. According to Stokoe, sign language is ________.

　　A) a Substandard language

　　B) a genuine language

　　C) an artificial language

　　D) an international language(B)

　　24. Most educators objected to Stokoe’s idea because they thought ________.

　　A) sign language was not extensively used even by deaf people

　　B) sign language was too artificial to be widely accepted

　　C) a language should be easy to use and understand

　　D) a language could only exist in the form of speech sounds(D)

　　25. Stokoe’s argument is based on his belief that ________.

　　A) sign language is as efficient as any other language

　　B) sign language is derived from natural language

　　C) language is a system of meaningful codes

　　D) language is a product of the brain(D)

　　Passage Three

　　Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.

　　Sign has become a scientific hot button. Only in the past 20 years have specialists in language study realized that signed languages are unique―a speech of the hand. They offer a new way to probe how the brain generates and understands language, and throw new light on an old scientific controversy: whether language, complete with grammar, is something that we are born With, or whether it is a learned behavior. The current interest in sign language has roots in the pioneering work of one rebel teacher at Gallaudet University in Washington, D. C., the world’s only liberal arts university for deaf people.

　　When Bill Stokoe went to Gallaudet to teach English, the school enrolled him in a course in signing. But Stokoe noticed something odd: among themselves, students signed differently from his classroom teacher.

　　Stokoe had been taught a sort of gestural code, each movement of the hands representing a word in English. At the time, American Sign Language (ASL) was thought to be no more than a form of pidgin English (混杂英语). But Stokoe believed the “hand talk” his students used looked richer. He wondered: Might deaf people actually: have a genuine language? And could that language be unlike any other on Earth? It was 1955, when even deaf people dismissed their signing as “substandard”. Stokoe’s idea was academic heresy (异端邪说).

　　It is 37 years later. Stokoe―now devoting his time to writing and editing books and journals and to producing video materials on ASL and the deaf culture―is having lunch at a cafe near the Gallaudet campus and explaining how he started a revolution. For decades educators fought his idea that signed languages are natural languages like English, French and Japanese. They assumed language must be based on speech, the modulation (调节) of sound. But sign language is based on the movement of hands, the modulation of space. “What I said,” Stokoe explains, “is that language is not mouth stuff―it’s brain stuff.”

　　21. The study of sign language is thought to be ________.

　　A) a new way to look at the learning of language

　　B) a challenge to traditional, views on the nature of language

　　C) an approach: to simplifying the grammatical structure of a language

　　D) an attempt to clarify misunderstanding about the origin of language(C)

　　22. The, present growing interest in sign language was stimulated by ________.

　　A) a famous scholar in the study of the human brain

　　B) a leading specialist in the study of liberal arts

　　C) an English teacher in a university for the deaf

　　D) some senior experts in American Sign Language(C)

　　23. According to Stokoe, sign language is ________.

　　A) a Substandard language

　　B) a genuine language

　　C) an artificial language

　　D) an international language(B)

　　24. Most educators objected to Stokoe’s idea because they thought ________.

　　A) sign language was not extensively used even by deaf people

　　B) sign language was too artificial to be widely accepted

　　C) a language should be easy to use and understand

　　D) a language could only exist in the form of speech sounds(D)

　　25. Stokoe’s argument is based on his belief that ________.

　　A) sign language is as efficient as any other language

　　B) sign language is derived from natural language

　　C) language is a system of meaningful codes

　　D) language is a product of the brain(D)

#P#

　　这篇文章内容核心是手语，以一位手语专家的研究历程为线索，粗略介绍了手语研究的新观点：手语是独立于语音的另一种语言。材料一共四段。开头介绍了手语研究的进展以及意义，“进展”指过去的20年研究人员发现了手语的独特性(realized that signed languages are unique)，意义是指手语的这一发现为研究大脑如何应用与理解语言开辟了新的方向(a new way to probe how the brain generates and understands language)，同时为一个古老的科学论题带来了新的希望：语言到底是天生的还是后天习得的(whether language……is something that we are born With, or whether it is a learned behavior)。之后，文章简单介绍了这一研究发现的先驱人物，以后的内容全部都是围绕这位先驱的研究经历展开的。

　　第一段末介绍了这位先驱人物Stokoe的基本信息：华盛顿特区一所聋人大学的教师。第二段便从他的教学经历讲起，谈到他被安排教授手语后发现了一个奇怪的现象：学生们的动作与教他的老师所讲的并不一样(students signed differently from his classroom teacher)。这就是新发现的契机。

　　接下来，文章先是简单说明一下当时的手语教育状况，以和他的新发现作为对比。首先是承接上文所说，讲他从老师那里学来的手语的基本特点：每个手势代表英语里的一个单词(each movement of the hands representing a word in English)，这可以理解为手语实际上是语言的附庸。其次是人们普遍认为美国手语不过是一种混杂英语(thought to be no more than a form of pidgin English)，这里也在强调手语从属于语言。之后是Stokoe自己的发现与思考：他认为学生们使用的手语意义比人们的普遍观点要更为丰富(the “hand talk” his students used looked richer)，同时受到了启发：或许聋人确实拥有一种真正的语言。

　　上一段最末一句说Stokoe的观点在当时过于超前，被视为学术异端，最后一段时空一下跳转到了37年以后，此时的Stokoe忙于写作、