1.2021年12月大学英语四级阅读易考范文
The Present Is the Most ImportantShams and delusions are esteemed for soundest truths, while reality is fabulous. If men would steadily observe realities only, and not allow themselves to be deluded, life, to compare it with such things as we know, would be like a fairy tale and the Arabian Nights’ Entertainments. If we respected only what is inevitable and has a right to be , music and poetry would resound along the streets. When we are unhurried and wise, we perceive that only great and worthy things have any permanent and absolute existence, --that petty fears and petty pleasure are but the shadow of reality. This is always exhilarating and sublime. By closing the eyes and slumbering, by consenting to be deceived by shows, men establish and confirm their daily life of routine and habit everywhere, which still is built on purely illusory foundation. Children, who play life, discern its true law and relations more clearly than men, who fail to live worthily, but who think that they are wiser by experience, that is, by failure. I have read in a Hindoo book, that “there was a king’s son, who, being expelled in infancy from his native city, was brought up by a forester, and, growing up to maturity in that state, imagined himself to belong to the barbarous race with which be lived. One of his father’s ministers having discovered him, revealed to him what he was, and the misconception of his character was removed, and he knew himself to be a prince. So soul, from the circumstances in which it is placed, mistakes its own character, until the truth is revealed to it by some holy teacher, and then it knows itself to be Brahme.” We think that that is which appears to be. If a man should give us an account of the realities he beheld, we should not recognize the place in his descri ption. Look at a meeting-house, or a court-house, or a jail, or a shop. Or a dwelling-house, and say what that thing really is before a true gaze, and they would all go to pieces in your account of them. Men esteem truth remote, in the outskirts of the system, behind the farthest star, before Adam and after the last man. In eternity there is indeed something true and sublime. But all these times and places and occasions are now and here. God himself culminates in the present moment, and will never be more divine in the lapse of all ages. And we are enabled to apprehend at all what is sublime and noble only by the perpetual instilling and drenching of the reality that surrounds us. The universe constantly and obediently answers to our conceptions; whether we travel fast or slow, the track is laid for us. Let us spend our lives in conceiving then. The poet or the artist never yet had as fair and noble a design but some of his posterity at least could accomplish it.
1. The writer’s attitude toward the arts is one of
[A]. admiration. [B]. indifference. [C]. suspicion. [D]. repulsion
2. The author believes that a child.
[A]. should practice what the Hindoos preach.
[B]. frequently faces vital problems better than grownups do.
[C]. hardly ever knows his true origin.
[D]. is incapable of appreciating the arts.
3. The author is primarily concerned with urging the reader to
[A]. look to the future for enlightenment. [B]. appraise the present for its true value.
[C]. honor the wisdom of the past ages. [D]. spend more time in leisure activities.
4. The passage is primarily concerned with problem of
[A]. history and economics. [B]. society and population.
[C]. biology and physics. [D]. theology and philosophy.
2.2021年12月大学英语四级阅读易考范文
Science is a dominant theme in our culture. Since it touches almost every facetof our life, educated people need at least some acquaintance with its structure and operation. They should also have an understanding of the subculture in which scientists live and the kinds of people they are. An understanding of general characteristics of science as well as specific scientific concepts is easier to attain if one knows something about the things that excite and frustrate the scientist.This book is written for the intelligent student or lay person whose acquaintance with science is superficial; for the person who has been presented with science as a musty storehouse of dried facts; for the person who sees the chief objective of science as the production of gadgets; and for the person who views the scientists as some sort of magician. The book can be used to supplement a course in any science, to accompany any course that attempts to give an understanding of the modern world, or – independently of any course – simply to provide a better understanding of science. We hope this book will lead readers to a broader perspective on scientific attitudes and a more realistic view of what science is, who scientists are, and what they do. It will give them an awareness and understanding of the relationship between science and our culture and an appreciation of the roles science may play in our culture. In addition, readers may learn to appreciate the relationship between scientific views and some of the values and philosophies that are pervasive in our culture.
We have tried to present in this book an accurate and up-to-date picture of the scientific community and the people who populate it. That population has in recent years come to comprise more and more women. This increasing role of women in the scientific subculture is not an unique incident but, rather, part of the trend evident in all segments of society as more women enter traditionally male-dominated fields and make significant contributions. In discussing these changes and contribution, however, we are faced with a language that is implicitly sexist, one that uses male nouns or pronouns in referring to unspecified individuals. To offset this built-in bias, we have adopted the policy of using plural nouns and pronouns whenever possible and, when absolutely necessary, alternating he and she. This policy is far form being ideal, but it is at least an acknowledgment of the inadequacy of our language in treating half of the human race equally.
We have also tried to make the book entertaining as well as informative. Our approach is usually informal. We feel, as do many other scientists, that we shouldn’t take ourselves too seriously. As the reader may observe, we see science as a delightful pastime rather than as a grim and dreary way to earn a living.
1. According to the passage, ‘scientific subculture’ means _____.
[A] cultural groups that are formed by scientists.
[B] people whose knowledge of science is very limited.
[C] the scientific community.
[D] people who make good contribution to science.
2. We need to know something about the structure and operation of science because_____.
[A] it is not easy to understand the things that excite and frustrate scientists.
[B] Science affects almost every aspect of our life.
[C] Scientists live in a specific subculture.
[D] It is easier to understand general characteristics of science.
3. The book mentioned in this passage is written for readers who_____.
[A] are intelligent college students and lay person who do not know much about science.
[B] are good at producing various gadgets.
[C] work in a storehouse of dried facts.
[D] want to have a superficial understanding of science.
4. According to this passage,_____.
[A] English is a sexist language.
[B] only in the scientific world is the role of women increasing rapidly.
[C] women are making significant contributions to eliminating the inadequacy of our language.
[D] male nouns or pronouns should not be used to refer to scientists.
5. This passage most probably is_____.
[A] a book review.
[B] the preface of a book.
[C] the postscr ipt of a book.
[D] the concluding part of a book.
Vocabulary
1. subculture 亚文化群(指在一个社会或一种文化内具有独特性的一群人)
2. superficial 肤浅的，浅薄的，表面的
3. lay person 外行，门外汉，俗人
4. musty 发毒的，老朽的，陈腐的
5. gadget 小玩意儿，小配件，新发明
6. pervasive 渗透的，弥漫的，遍布的
7. populate 居住于……中，在……中占一席之地
8. implicit 含蓄的，内含的
9. unspecified 未特别提出的
10. offset 抵消，补偿
3.2021年12月大学英语四级阅读易考范文
When you think of the tremendous technological progress we have made, it’s amazing how little we have developed in other respects. We may speak contemptuously of the poor old Romans because they relished the orgies of slaughter that went on in their arenas. We may despise them because they mistook these goings on for entertainment. We may forgive them condescendingly because they lived 2000 years ago and obviously knew no better. But are our feelings of superiority really justified? Are we any less blood-thirsty? Why do boxing matches, for instance, attract such universal interest? Don’t the spectators who attend them hope they will see some violence? Human beings remains as bloodthirsty as ever they were. The only difference between ourselves and the Romans is that while they were honest enough to admit that they enjoyed watching hungey lions tearing people apart and eating them alive, we find all sorts of sophisticated arguments to defend sports which should have been banned long age; sports which are quite as barbarous as, say, public hangings or bearbaiting.It really is incredible that in this day and age we should still allow hunting or bull-fighting, that we should be prepared to sit back and watch two men batter each other to pulp in a boxing ring, that we should be relatively unmoved by the sight of one or a number of racing cars crashing and bursting into flames. Let us not deceive ourselves. Any talk of ‘the sporting spirit’ is sheer hypocrisy. People take part in violent sports because of the high rewards they bring. Spectators are willing to pay vast sums of money to see violence. A world heavyweight championship match, for instance, is front page news. Millions of people are disappointed if a big fight is over in two rounds instead of fifteen. They feel disappointment because they have been deprived of the exquisite pleasure of witnessing prolonged torture and violence.
Why should we ban violent sports if people enjoy them so much? You may well ask. The answer is simple: they are uncivilized. For centuries man has been trying to improve himself spiritually and emotionally – admittedly with little success. But at least we no longer tolerate the sight madmen cooped up in cages, or public floggings of any of the countless other barbaric practices which were common in the past. Prisons are no longer the grim forbidding places they used to be. Social welfare systems are in operation in many parts of the world. Big efforts are being made to distribute wealth fairly. These changes have come about not because human beings have suddenly and unaccountably improved, but because positive steps were taken to change the law. The law is the biggest instrument of social change that we have and it may exert great civilizing influence. If we banned dangerous and violent sports, we would be moving one step further to improving mankind. We would recognize that violence is degrading and unworthy of human beings.
1. It can be inferred from the passage that the author’s opinion of nowadays’ human beings is______.
A. not very high. B. high.
C. contemptuous. D. critical.
2. The main idea of this passage is______.
A. vicious and dangerous sports should be banned by law.
B. people are willing to pay vast sums money to see violence.
C. to compare two different attitudes towards dangerous sports.
D. people are bloodthirsty in sports.
3. That the author mentions the old Romans is ______.
A. To compare the old Romans with today’s people.
B. to give an example.
C. to show human beings in the past know nothing better.
D. to indicate human beings are used to bloodthirsty.
4. How many dangerous sports does the author mention in this passage?
A. Three. B. Five.
C. Six. D. Seven.
5. The purpose of the author in writing this passage is ______.
A. that, by banning the violent sports, we human beings can improve our selves.
B. that, by banning the dangerous sports, we can improve the law.
C. that we must take positive steps to improve social welfare system.
D. to show law is the main instrument of social change.
Vocabulary
1. relish 从……获得乐处，享受
2. orgy 狂欢，放纵
3. arena 竞技场，活动或斗争的场所
4. blood-thirsty 残忍的，嗜血的
5. bear-baiting 逗熊游戏
6. bull-fight 斗牛
7. batter 猛击，连续地猛打/捶，乱打
8. pulp 成纸浆，成软块
9. burst into flames 突然燃烧起来/着火
10. grim 令人窒息的，简陋的
11. coop up 把……关起来
