2024年2月17日发(作者：)

专业英语四级-57

(总分100,考试时间90分钟)

READING COMPREHENSION

Passage 1

Shortly before he died oflymphoma(淋巴癌), the great writer and physician Lewis Thomas, whose

books turned science into a way of appreciating the greatness of the world, told me he thought the

true measure of a life was that it be useful. He wondered in those last days if his own life had been

useful, and many thousands of readers assured him that it had. "Grow old along with me! The best

is yet to be," cried Robert Browning"s Rabbi Ben Ezra. Not always. Poetry replies to Rabbi Ben

with A.E. Housman"s "To an Athlete Dying Young" **es up with no more startling a conclusion

than that a life is what one makes of it.

Celebrity is hardly aprerequisite(先决条件). Kennedy"s life would have been just as valuable had

he been, to use another poet"s phrase, a "mute, inglorious Milton". A beloved colleague

atTIMEdied recently who was unknown to most of the world, except the friends she cherished.

The measure of a life is often taken in the smallest units. On television, a parking attendant in the

garage that Kennedy used mentioned that Kennedy came over personally to wish the man a merry

Christmas every year. A middle aged African American woman with whom he worked in one of

the programs he supported was in tears at the recollection of continuous small acts of kindness.

The sudden garden that has developed on the front steps of Kennedy"s loft building began simply

with neighbors payinghomage(崇敬) to a neighbor. From such fragments of evidence a whole life

is constructed, or reconstructed.

When a man dies, a civilization dies with him. Everything dies but thereverberation(反响) of his

works in the lives of others; and so, while an individual civilization dies, the greater one profits.

We call such deaths tragedies because the force of the life has been of greatmagnitude(重要性);

yet tragedy from the point of view of the audience is high art, and one is filled with as much

admiration as grief.

Keats chose as hisepitaph(墓志铭) "Here lies one whose name was writ in water." He believed

that his life would be viewed as without consequence, and that he woulddebut(初次登台) one

more transitory figure among the yearning and striving masses. Kennedy, too, I think, would have

had his name writ in water, thus the appropriateness of his sea burial, because the best public

servants disappear into the world, whose pain they feel. Every name is writ in water, which flows

through us all.

1. We can infer from the first paragraph that Lewis Thomas believes that ______.

A. your life is important if it is meaningful for others

B. you can build meaning into your life if it is long

C. work while alive is the most important thing

D. usefulness of one life is hard to measure

2. Which of the following statements is true about Robert Browning?

A. He believes that longer life is no good thing.

B. He believes that true life lies in how one makes of it.

C. He is identical with Lewis Thomas, regarding the life issue.

D. He is opposite to A.E. Housman, regarding the death issue.

3. What idea does the author want to convey in the second paragraph?

A. The importance of one"s life is not related with his reputation or fame.

B. Poets and politicians make the same contribution to society.

C. Statesmen are always ready to do small things for people around them.

D. The beloved colleague at Time is as respectable as Kennedy.

4. By saying "The measure of a life is often taken in the smallest units" (Para. 2), the author means

that ______.

A. Kennedy was most respected by the ordinary people

B. Kennedy"s life can be reflected by the small deeds he has done

C. Kennedy has done many small deeds for the people around him

D. Kennedy devoted his life to serving the people from the lower class

5. In the last paragraph, the author cites Keats" epitaph to show that ______.

A. the poet finally died in the seawater

B. the poet"s dream of his great popularity came true centuries later

C. the importance of one"s life can not be predicted

D. human life is transitory, so don"t waste it

Passage 2

Utopia is a perfect place. It is a place without war, hunger, poverty, or crime. It is a place where

the people work together and share. There is no money in Utopia because the people do not need

money. They do not have personal possessions because everything belongs to everyone. All of the

people are equal in Utopia, and the laws are all fair.

Utopia is not a new place. Plato, the ancient Greek philosopher, described a perfect society in his

famous dialogue The Republic. In Plato"s Republic, philosophers were the kings, and every

person had a place in the society. In 1516, Sir Thomas More wrote about an island in the Pacific

Ocean where everything was perfect. He named the island "Utopia." In 1872, Samuel Butler wrote

a novel about a perfect country which he named "Erehwon": "Utopia" is a Greek word that means

"not a place" and "Erehwon" is the English word "nowhere" spelled backwards.

Many people came to the New World to find Utopia. The Shakers, a religious group, wanted to

live like the first Christians. The Shakers started their **munity in New York in 1776. George

Rapp, a German farmer, came to the United States in 1804 to start a **munity. In 1815, Rapp and

his followers bought land for **munity in Harmony, Indiana, and they made the things they

needed with machines. In 1824, they sold **munity to Robert Owen, who started the **munity of

New Harmony there. In New Harmony, everything belonged to everyone and men and women

were equal, but New Harmony lasted only two years. Then Francis Wright began Nashoba, a

community where white people and black people could live and work together, near Memphis,

Tennessee. Nashoba lasted from 1825 to 1830. A group of intellectuals founded Brook Farm, a

Utopian **munity, in 1841. However, they did not have many farming skills, so the farm closed in

1847. Four years later, Josiah Warren set up Modem Times, an **munity near New York City. It

closed in 1857.

Utopia is a perfect place, but it is not a real place. Most "real" Utopias last only a short time. This

is because everyone wants to live in Utopia, but no one knows how to make it work. As a result,

when we say something is "Utopian" today, we mean that it is a good idea, but it is not realistic.

1. The first paragraph is mainly about ______.

A. what makes utopia

B. how to build utopia

C. the origin of "utopia"

D. the economy of utopia

2. It can be inferred from the second paragraph that ______.

A. "Utopia" is a word created by Thomas More

B. "Utopia" has the same concept as "Erehwon"

C. Thomas More named the island "Utopia" because he was Greek

D. the characteristics of Utopia were first mentioned in The Republic

3. What is true about the Shakers?

A. They founded the **munity in New York.

B. They believed the first **munity was Utopia.

C. They had tried to find Utopia only in New York.

D. They had established the first real Utopia in the world.

4. Which of the following may be the most appropriate definition of "an **munity"?

A. A community whose members believe some kind of religion.

B. A community where people live under much self-control.

C. A community where its members are supposed to be equal.

D. A community which is economically poor but spiritually rich.

5. All the "Utopias" mentioned in the third paragraph lasted only a brief time because ______.

A. the members didn"t know how to realize the idea of Utopia

B. the members were not satisfied with the idea of Utopia

C. the members were not capable enough to build a community

D. the members found that Utopia also had **ings

Passage 3

The men and women of Anglo-Saxon England normally bore one name only. Distinguishing

epithets were rarely added. These might be patronymic, descriptive or occupational. They were,

however, hardly surnames. Heritable names gradually became general in the three centuries

following the Norman Conquest in 1066. It was not until the 13th and 14th centuries that

surnames became fixed, although for many years after that, the degree of stability in family names

varied considerably in different parts of the country.

British surnames fall mainly into four broad categories: patronymic, occupational, descriptive and

local. A few names, it is true, will remain puzzling: foreign names, perhaps, crudely translated,

adapted or abbreviated; or artificial names.

In fact, over fifty per cent of genuine British surnames derive from place names of different kinds,

and so they belong to the last of our four main categories. Even such a name as Simpson may

belong to this last group, and not to the first, had the family once had its home in the ancient

village of that name. Otherwise, Simpson means "the son of Simon", as might be expected.

Hundreds of occupational surnames are at once familiar to us, or at least recognisable after a little

thought: Archer, Carter, Fisher, Mason, Thatcher, Taylor, to name but a few. Hundreds of others

are more obscure in their meanings and testify to the amazing specialisation in medieval arts,

crafts and functions. Such are "Day", (Old English for breadmaker) and "Walker" (a fuller whose

job it was to clean and thicken newly made cloth).

All these vocational names carry with them a certain gravity and dignity, which descriptive names

often lack. Some, it is true, like "Long", "Short" or "Little", are simple. They may be taken quite

literally. Others require more thinking: their meanings are slightly different from the modern ones.

"Black" and "White" implied dark and fair respectively. "Sharp" meant genuinely discerning, alert,

acute rather than quick-witted or clever.

Place-names have a lasting interest since there is hardly a town or village in all England that has

not at some time given its name to a family. They may be picturesque, even poetical; or they may

be pedestrian, even trivial. Among **moner names which survive with relatively little change

from old-English times are "Milton" (middle enclosure) and "Hilton"(enclosure on a hill).

1. Surnames are said to be ______ in Anglo-Saxon England.

A. common B. vocational

C. unusual D. descriptive

2. We learn from the first paragraph that ______ for many years after the 13th and 14th centuries.

A. family names became descriptive and occupational

B. people in some areas still had no surnames

C. some people kept changing their surnames

D. all family names became fixed in England

3. "Patronymic" in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to "formed from______".

A. the name of one"s father

B. the family occupation

C. one"s family home

D. one"s family history

4. Which of the following sentences is an opinion rather than a fact?

A. Hundreds of occupational names are at once familiar to us.

B. "Black" and "White" implied "dark" and "fair" respectively.

C. Vocational names carry with them a certain gravity and dignity.

D. Every place in England has given its name to a family.

Passage 4

More surprising, perhaps, than the current difficulties of traditional marriage is the fact that

marriage itself is alive and thriving. As Skolnick notes, Americans are a marrying people: relative

to Europeans, more of us marry and we marry at a younger age. Moreover, after a decline in the

early 1970s, the rate of marriage in the United States is now increasing. Even the divorce rate

needs to be taken in this pro-marriage context: some 80 percent of divorced individuals remarry.

Thus, marriage remains, by far, the preferred way of life for the vast majority of people in our

society.

What has changed more than marriage is the nuclear family. Twenty-five years ago, the typical

American family consisted of a husband, a wife, and two or three children. Now, there are many

marriages in which couples have decided not to have any children. And there are many marriages

where at least some of the children are from the wife"s previous marriage, or the husband"s, or

both. Sometimes these children spend all of their time with one parent from the former marriage;

sometimes they are shared between the two former spouses.

Thus, one can find the very type of family arrangement. There are marriages without children;

marriages with children from only the present marriage; marriages with "full-time" children from

the present marriage and "part-time" children from former marriages. There are step-fathers,

step-mothers, half-brothers, and half-sisters. It is not all that unusual for a child to have four

parents and eight grandparents! These are enormous changes from the traditional nuclear family.

But even so, even in the midst of all this, there remains one constant: most Americans spend most

of their adult lives married.

1. By calling Americans "marrying people" the author means that ______.

A. there are more married couples in the U.S.A. than in Europe

B. more Americans prefer marriage and at a younger age than Europeans

C. most divorced individuals remarry

D. marriage is the most important part of American life

2. From the first paragraph we can know that ______.

A. traditional marriage now runs into difficulty

B. marriage rate has been rising since the 1970

C. marriage rate in Europe is rather low

D. Europeans marry when they are quite old

3. Which of the following can be presented as the picture of today"s American families?

A. There are no nuclear families any more.

B. A family usually consists of a husband, a wife and two or three children.

C. A child usually has four grandparents.

D. Many types of family rearrangements have become socially acceptable.

4. "Part-time" children ______.

A. do part-time jobs to earn their living

B. spend all of their time with one parent from the previous marriage

C. are shared between the two former spouses

D. are quite unusual even in the U.S.A.

5. As great changes have taken place in the structure of American families, ______.

A. the functions of marriage remain unchanged

B. most Americans don"t mind a second marriage

C. most Americans still have faith in marriage

D. the concept of nuclear family is modernized

Passage 5

The idea to remodel your bathroom **e as an idea to augment your house value or simply to make

it into the haven you have always wanted. Whichever reason is yours, to make everything you do

to implement your bathroom-remodeling ideas fully realizable, you should look to these

inexpensive and easy-to-install ideas.

When you remodel a bathroom, you can change aspects from lighting to fixtures. In the bathroom

you want to have adequate lighting. Some ideas would be changing harsh lighting with staged

lighting, or even lights at the vanity and near the bathtub. Changing lighting won"t break your

budget, as a lot of fixtures can be inexpensive. You can also save money by doing it yourself. Yet,

know when to hire outside help, such as a local remodeling contractor. You can check yellow

pages, and online to find one near you. All you need to do is Google "local city remodeling" and

see **es up.

When remodeling a bathroom you should always listen to the advice of your contractor on what

type would be best suited for your project. You are paying a remodeling contractor to do the work,

he/she should have the best knowledge of what will look the best with the decor and usage of such

things as shower heads, faucets, lighting and other fixtures. Chances are he/she may also be able

to get better quality and pricing on all fixtures especially if he/she is well established. Not to

mention the contractor will also know what types will really increase the value of your home.

Buy more tiles than you believe you will need in order to line the floor, if not the walls. It will be

far more costly and time-consuming to locate tiles that **e close to a replica of yours if you search

for them years after buying the initial batch. For the duration of your homeownership, you"ll

probably require spare tiles if single ones are damaged. Also, excess tiles may be transformed into

accent items for your bathroom, such as decorations by the light switches, bathroom tissue

dispensers, mirrors, and even towel racks. Once again, the local remodeling contractors are

experienced and will attend to these pre-planning items for you.

To gain more space in the bathroom replace your big vanity with a small pedestal sink. You can

add more shelves in other parts of the room. A pedestal sink will take up less space and make your

bathroom look bigger than before. Avoid filling up expanded space with items you will not use.

Do you really need that many different shampoos? You should only need a small amount of space

for these products like the top of the toilet or built in shelves.

With the knowledge of various remodeling bathroom ideas from luxury developer Pendleton

Homes out of Mclean Virginia you can re-exam your own ideas and learn how to create your own

remodel bathroom ideas. Pendleton Homes has great advice to help you with remodel bathroom

ideas, these ideas also include pictures in which you may want to mix up a couple to make it look

as if you were the one who had the great remodel bathroom idea. Just learning a little might even

make your new bathroom the envy of many and your sanctuary of pleasure.

As you consider remodel bathroom ideas, make sure that the lighting is appropriate. If you"re

thinking about upgrading your bathroom, something as simple as installing new steel fixtures,

such as showerheads and faucets, can breathe new life into your old restroom. Start by finding a

reliable agent, who will be able to assist you in completing the project.

1. The author suggests that harsh lighting in the bathroom should be changed into ______.

A. lights that are used for performance

B. lights whose brightness is adjustable

C. lights that give off soft light

D. lights that are less expensive

2. A ______ contractor is most possibly able to offer you fixtures at more reasonable prices.

A. competent B. creative

C. creditable D. considerate

3. "accent items" in the bathroom are primarily intended to ______.

A. make the most of the excess tiles

B. protect the home from damage

C. enhance the coziness of home

D. save time in future shopping

4. It is suggested in the fifth paragraph that we should ______.

A. leave as much room as possible

B. install as few shelves as possible

C. move the vanity out of the bathroom

D. avoid using many different shampoos

5. The passage is most probably meant to ______.

A. give some guidance to DIYers

B. advertise for Pendleton Homes

C. introduce the trend of bedroom remodeling

D. solve problems about bedroom remodeling