12月大学英语四级考试模拟试卷及答案(16)

Part Ⅱ Reading Comprehension (35 minutes)?

Directions: There are 4 passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A),B),C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the centre.?

Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage:?

American Indians played a central role in the war known as the American Revolution. To them, however, the dispute between the colonists and England was peripheral. For American Indians the conflict was a war for American Indian independence, and whichever side they chose, they lost it. Mary Brant was a powerful influence among the Iroquois. She was a Mohawk, the leader of the society of all Iroquois matrons, and the widow of Sir William Johnson, Superintendent of Indian Affairs. Her brother, Joseph Brant, is the best?known American Indian warrior of the Revolution, yet she may have exerted even more influence in the confederacy than he did. She used her influence to keep the western tribes of Iroquois loyal to the English king, George Ⅲ. When the colonists won the war, she and her tribe had to abandon their lands and retreat to Canada. On the other side, Nancy Ward held positions of authority in the Cherokee nation. She had fought as a warrior in the war against the Creeks and as a reward for her heroism was made “Beloved Woman” of the tribe. This office made her chief of the women’s council and a member of the council of chiefs. She was friendly with the white settlers and supported the Patriots during the Revolution. Yet the Cherokees too lost their land.

?21.What is the main point the author makes in the passage?

?A.Siding with the English in the Revolution helped American Indians regain their land.

?B.At the time of the Revolution the Superintendent of Indian Affairs had little power.

?C.Regardless of whom they supported in the Revolution, American Indians lost their land.

?D.The outcome of the Revolution was largely determined by American Indian women.

?22.The word “it” in line 5 refers to ____.

?A.side B.revolution

?C.dispute D.independence

?23.How did Ward gain her position of authority?

?A.By bravery in battle.

B.By marriage to a chief.

?C.By joining the confederacy.

D.By being born into a powerful family.

?24.To which tribe did Nancy Ward belong?

?A.Mohawk. B.Iroquois. C.Cherokee. D.Creek.

?25.According to the passage, what did Mary Brant and Nancy Ward had in common?

?A.Each was called “Beloved Woman” by her tribe.

?B.Each influenced her tribe’s role in the American Revolution.

?C.Each lost a brother in the American Revolution.

?D.Each went to England after the American Revolution.

Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.?

Born in 1830 in rural Amherst, Massachusetts, Emily Dickinson spent her entire life in the household of her parents. Between 1858 and 1862, it was later discovered, she wrote like a person possessed, often producing a poem a day. It was also during this period that her life was transformed into the myth of Amherst. Withdrawing more and more, keeping to her room, sometimes even refusing to see visitors who called, she began to dress only in white—a habit that added to her reputation as an eccentric.

?In their determination to read Dickinson’s life in terms of a traditional romantic plot, biographers have missed the unique pattern of her life—her struggle to create a female life not yet imagined by the culture in which she lived. Dickinson was not the innocent, lovelorn and emotionally fragile girl sentimentalized by the Dickinson myth and popularized by William Luce’s 1976 play, the Belle of Amherst. Her decision to shut the door on Amherst society in the 1850’s transformed her house into a kind of magical realm in which she was free to engage her poetic genius. Her seclusion was not the result of a failed love affair, but rather a part of a more general pattern of renunciation through which she, in her quest for self?sovereignty, carried on an argument with the puritan fathers, attacking with wit and irony their cheerless Calvinist doctrine, their stern patriarchal God, and their rigid notions of “true womanhood”.

?26.What’s the author’s main purpose in the passage?

?A.To interpret Emily Dickinson’s eccentric behavior.

?B.To promote the popular myth of Emily Dickinson.

?C.To discuss Emily Dickinson’s failed love affair.

?D.To describe the religious climate in Emily Dickinson’s time.

?27.Which of the following is not mentioned as being one of Emily Dickinson’s eccentricities?

?A.Refusing to eat. B.Wearing only white.

?C.Avoiding visitors. D.Staying in her room.

?28.According to the passage, biographers of Emily Dickinson have traditionally ____.

?A.criticized most of her poems

?B.ignored her innocence and emotional fragility

?C.seen her life in romantic terms

?D.blaming her parents for restricting her activities

?29.The author implies that many people attribute Emily Dickinson’s seclusion to ____.

?A.physical illness B.a failed love affair

?C.religious fervor D.her dislike of people

?30.It can be inferred from the passage that Emily Dickinson lived in a society that was characterized by ____.

?A.strong Puritan beliefs

?B.equality of men and women

?C.the encouragement of nonconformity

?D.the appreciation of poetic creativity

Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage.?

The railroad industry could not have grown as large as it did without steel. The first rails were made of iron. But iron rails were not strong enough to support heavy trains running at high speeds. Railroad executives wanted to replace them with steel rails because steel was ten or fifteen times stronger and lasted twenty times longer. Before the 1870’s, however, steel was too expensive to be widely used. It was made by a slow and expensive process of heating, stirring and reheating iron ore.

?Then the inventor Henry Bessemer discovered that directing a blast of air at melted iron in a furnace would burn out the impurities that made the iron brittle. As the air shot through the furnace, the bubbling metal would erupt in showers of sparks. When the fire cooled, the metal had been changed, or converted to steel. The Bessemer converter made possible the mass production of steel. Now three to five tons of iron could be changed into steel in a matter of minutes.

Just when the demand for more and more steel developed, prospectors discovered huge new deposits of iron ore in the Mesabi Range, a 120?long region in Minnesota near Lake Superior. The Mesabi deposits were so near the surface that they could be mined with steam shovels.

?Barges and steamers carried the iron ore through Lake Superior to depots on the southern shores of Lake Michigan and Lake Erie. With dizzying speed Gary, Indiana, and Toledo, Youngstown, and Cleveland, Ohio, became major steel?manufacturing centers. Pittsburgh was the greatest steel city of all.

?Steel was the basic building material of the industrial age. Production skyrocketed from seventy?seven thousand tons in 1870 to over eleven million tons in 1900.

31.According to the passage, the railroad industry preferred steel to iron because steel was ____.

?A.cheaper and more plentiful

?B.lighter and easier to mold

?C.cleaner and easier to mine

?D.stronger and more durable

?32.According to the passage, how did Bessemer method make the mass production of steel possible?

?A.It directed air at melted iron in a furnace, removing all impurities.

?B.It slowly heated iron ore then stirred it and heated it again.

?C.It changed iron ore into iron which was a substitute for steel.

?D.It could quickly find deposits of iron ore under the ground.

?33.According to the passage, where were large deposits of iron uncovered?

?A.In Pittsburgh. ?B.In the Mesabi Range.

?C.Near Lake Michigan.?D.Near Lake Erie.

?34.The words “Barges and steamers” could best be replaced by which of the following?

?A.Trains.B.Planes.?C.Boats.?D.Trucks.

?35.It can be inferred from the passage that the mass production of steel caused ____.

?A.a decline in the railroad industry

?B.a revolution in the industrial world

?C.an increase in the price of steel

?D.a feeling of discontent among steel workers
答案

Part Ⅱ

1

短文大意

文章主要描述了美国印第安人在美国革命中所面临的矛盾,无论印第安人支持哪一方——殖民主义者还是英格兰,他们都将失去自己的领土与独立。本文进一步以Mary Brant和Nancy Ward为例阐述了该观点。

?21.答案C。

?【试题分析】 此题考查对作者写作目的理解。

?【详细解答】 文章第3句就阐明了作者的观点:无论印第安人支持哪一方——殖民主义者还是英格兰,他们都将失去自己的领土与独立。后面的部分都是举例来证明观点,所以C正确。A中印第安人与英格兰并肩作战而获得了他们的土地,与文章内容不符;B和D都不是文章的主要观点。

?22.答案D。

?【试题分析】 此题考查学生根据上下文判断具体词义的能力。

?【详细解答】 根据句子的意思,it指前面提到的印第安人的独立,所以D项正确。A.方;B.革命;C.分歧;D.独立。

?23.答案A。

?【试题分析】 此题为根据上下文推理题。

?【详细解答】 文章倒数第四句指出,她在与Creeks人作战的过程中表现勇敢,做为报偿,部落给了她很高的职位。B.通过嫁给部落首领,C.通过加入南部联邦,与文章内容不符。D.通过出生于有影响的家庭,文中未提到,所以也不正确。

?24.答案C。

?【试题分析】 此题为语义推理题。

?【详细解答】 文章倒数第三句指出Nancy Ward是Cherokee部落的当权者。据此可知,她属于该部落。所以C项正确。而A、B和D都只在介绍Mary Brant中提到过。

?25.答案B。

?【试题分析】 此题为根据上下文推理题。

?【详细解答】 A.两人都被她们的部落称为“Beloved Woman”,而文中只有Nancy Ward有此称号;B.两人对她们部落在美国革命中作用影响很大,根据上下文我们可知B正确,而C和D文中都没有提到,所以C和D均不正确。?

2

短文大意

本文是对美国著名女诗人Emily Dickinson的介绍。在1858到1862年间,Emily Dickinson创作了大量的诗歌,与此同时她开始关门闭户,不与他人往来的生活。作者从另一个侧面解释Emily Dickinson隐居的原因并非她传统和浪漫的一面,而是反对清教徒的清规戒律。

?26.答案A。

?【试题分析】 此题考查对作者写与目的的理解。

?【详细解答】 作者在本文中解释了Emily Dickinson关门闭户,不与他人往来的原因,所以A项正确。B进一步宣扬Emily Dickinson生活之谜,与A相反。C讨论Emily Dickinson失败婚恋的原因,不全面。D描述了Emily Dickinson时代的宗教气候,也非作者意图。

?27.答案A。

?【试题分析】 此题为语义辨析题,要求判断正误。

?【详细解答】 “keeping to her room, sometimes even refusing to see visitors who called, she began to dress only in white…”此句表明拒绝吃东西不是她的怪僻之一。而B、C和D在上句均有涉及,所以正确答案为A。

?28.答案C。

?【试题分析】 此题为特定信息查寻题。

?【详细解答】 文章指出,Dickinson的自传作家只看到她传统和浪漫的一面(…in terms of a traditional romantic plot)。所以C选项正确。A.批评她大部分的诗歌,与文章内容不符。B.忽略了她的纯真和感情上的脆弱,正好相反。D.谴责其父母限制她的活动,文中未提到。

?29.答案B。

?【试题分析】 此题为语义推理题。

?【详细解答】 Her seclusion was not the result of a failed love affair. 此句暗含许多人认为她独处的原因是失恋。所以B选项正确。A.身体疾病,文中未提到;B.失恋;C.宗教上的虔诚,而Emily Dickinson反对清教的清规戒律;D.她讨厌别人也不正确。

?30.答案A。

?【试题分析】 此题为语义推理题。

?【详细解答】 文章最后指出她隐居的原因之一是反对清教徒的清规戒律。据此可判断,A.为正确答案。B.男女平等正与清教徒的教义相背。C.鼓励人们不要顺从传统也与清教徒的教义相背。D.欣赏诗歌创作,文中未提到。?

3

短文大意

本文简介了钢的发展史,最初的车轨是铁制的,为了支持重型高速列车的运行,人们发展了强度更大的钢来取代铁。后来Henry Bessemer发明了转炉炼钢法,使钢的生产向大规模化发展。同时丰富铁矿的发现,使钢产业迅速发展,也形成了许多钢生产中心,钢也成为了工业时代的一种基本材料。

?31.答案D。

?【试题分析】 此题为语义测试题。

?【详细解答】 “because steel was ten or fifteen times stronger and lasted twenty times longer”。此句表明人们以钢代铁的理由是钢的强度大些,更耐用,所以D选项正确。A.更便宜更丰富;B.更轻且易于铸造;C.干净易于开采;D.强度更大,更耐用。

?32.答案A。

?【试题分析】 此题为语义推理题。

?【详细解答】 文中第二段开头提到Henry Bessemer在炼铁时发现给熔炉鼓入空气,除去杂质,铁就会变成钢。这使钢的生产向大规模化发展。所以正确答案为A。B.缓慢加热铁矿,搅拌后再次加热,文中未提到。C.该方法将铁矿转变为可替代钢的铁,与文章含义不符。D.该方法能迅速发现地下铁矿,这与Bessemer的发明无关。

?33.答案B。

?【试题分析】 此题为特定信息查寻题。

?【详细解答】 根据第三段中的Prospectors discovered huge new deposits of iron ore in the Mesabi Range.,勘探者在Meabi Range发现了丰富的铁矿,所以正确答案为B。

?34.答案C。

?【试题分析】 此题为语义测试题。

?【详细解答】 barge意为“驳船”,steamer意为“轮船”,因为boat是船的总称,所以两者均可称为boat,所以正确答案为C。A.火车,B.飞机,D.卡车

?35.答案B。

?【试题分析】 此题为语义推理题。

?【详细解答】 文章最后指出,钢是工业时代的基本建筑材料,据此可以推断,钢的大量生产将会带来一场工业革命,所以正确答案为B。A.铁路产业的下降,B.工业界的革命,C.钢价格的上扬,D.钢铁工人的不满情绪。