专业英语四级阅读-10

(总分：100.00，做题时间：90分钟)

一、Text A(总题数：2，分数：23.00)

Google has an ambitious vision for spectacles. On June 27th Sergey Brin, one of the company's co-founders, revealed the next stage of Project Glass, its effort to create wireless-connected glasses that allow their wearers to do a host of things, including receiving and responding to messages, and taking and sharing photos and videos. The goal is to get prototypes in the hands of software developers early next year and then to sell a more polished set of specs to consumers in late 2013 or early the following year.

A product of Google's secretive X Lab, whose mission is to push the boundaries of computing, the glasses were on show at the company's developer conference in San Francisco along with several other gadgets, including a cheap tablet computer and a new wireless media player for the home. These gadgets attracted plenty of attention, but the longest queues at the event were at booths where folk were trying on Google's spectacles.

That is hardly surprising because the glasses seem like something out of a science-fiction novel. A tiny transparent display towards the top of one lens allows wearers to see text and images by glancing upwards. And the spectacles can be controlled using either voice commands or a somewhat bulky touchpad integrated into one of the arms. Mr. Brin says the goal is to \"get technology out of the way\" so people can, say, take videos without having to pull out a camera or smartphone each time they do so.

Google's glasses reflect a growing interest in wearable computing, which many experts think could be the next big thing in personal technology after smartphones and tablets. But some tech veterans give warning that designing novel devices people feel comfortable wearing is an especially tricky task. \"In general, the first attempt at producing new computing paradigms rarely sticks,\" notes Sumeet Jain of CMEA Capital, a venture-capital firm.

If Google's glasses are to prove an exception to that rule, the firm will have to meet several challenges. One is to refine their design so that wearers don't look like nerds from a laboratory. Another is to relieve inevitable concerns around privacy that the glasses will raise. The firm will also need to reassure people their eyeballs won't be blitzed with advertising, which is Google's preferred way to mint money. Mr. Brin stresses the aim is to make a profit on the glasses themselves, whose mass-market price will be well below the $1,500 developers are paying for a pair. That should make them worth a close look.

（分数：8.00）

(1).When could software developers get prototypes of the spectacles? A. Late 2012. B. Early 2013. C. Late 2013. D. Early 2014.（分数：2.00） A. B. √ C. D.

解析：推理题。文章第一段最后一句提到“...get prototypes in the hands of software developers early next year”，表明是在明年年初让软件开发者拿到产品原型，而该句的后半句表明在2013年年末或者2014年年初向消费者出售更加精良的眼镜，由此推断出软件开发者得到产品原型的时间早于C“2013年年末”和D“2014年年初”，而A“2012年年末”与文中的“明年年初”矛盾，所以正确答案只能是B“2013年年初”。

(2).The most popular product at Google's developer conference in San Francisco was ______. A. tablet computer B. wireless media player C. the spectacles D. smart phone（分数：2.00）

A. B. C. √ D.

解析：推理题。文章第二段最后一句提到这些小发明吸引了广泛的关注，但此次活动中排队最长的是谷歌眼镜试戴展位，由排队最长可推断出在旧金山公司的开发者会议上最受欢迎的产品是谷歌眼镜，所以选C。A“平板电脑”和B“无线媒体播放器”是上一句中提到的小发明，所以排除；D“智能手机”在第四段第一句有所提及，但并未指出其参与了此次展出，故排除。

(3).Some experts believe it is a difficult task to ______.

A. design new devices worn comfortably B. increase customers' interests in the spectacles C. push the boundaries of wearable computing D. invent new wearable computing devices（分数：2.00） A. √ B. C. D.

解析：细节题。文章第四段第二句提到，但是一些资深技术人员警告称设计使人们佩戴舒适的新颖装置是一件非常棘手的任务，所以A“设计可以舒适佩戴的新装置”为正确答案。B“增加客户对眼镜的兴趣”在文中并未提及，故排除；C“拓宽可佩戴的计算领域”在第二段第一句有所提及，但这是谷歌X实验室的使命；D“发明新的可佩戴的计算设备”在第四段最后一句有所提及，但这是风险投资公司CMEA Capital的萨米特·杰恩所说的话，故排除。

(4).Which of the following is NOT among the challenges to be met by Google? A. To improve the design of the glasses. B. To ease people's concerns about privacy. C. To make people stop worrying about advertising.

D. To earn a profit by increasing the mass-market price.（分数：2.00） A. B. C. D. √

解析：细节题。第五段第五句提到盈利和眼镜的大众市场版价格，但是指谷歌的目标是要通过眼镜本身来盈利，眼镜的大众市场版价格将远低于1500美元一副的开发者购买价格，而不是提高大众市场版价格，故D为正确答案。由第五段第二至四句可知，谷歌要应对的三个挑战分别是改良设计、困扰用户的隐私问题、确保用户远离广告的狂轰滥炸，所以A、B和C均可排除。

Wearable gadgets like smart watches and Google Glass can seem like a fad that has all the durability of CB radios or Duran Duran, but they're important early signs of a new era of technology that will drive investment and innovation for years.

Tech companies are pushing out waves of wearable technology products—all of them clumsy and none of them yet really catching on. Samsung is excitedly hawking its Galaxy Gear smart watch, and Google, Apple, Qualcomm (高通公司), and others are expected to come out with competing versions. Google Glass gets lots of gee-whiz attention, and every other day, someone new introduces a fitness tracker, a GPS kid-monitoring bracelet, or—yeah, seriously—interactive underwear.

These are all part of a powerful trend: Over the past 40 years, digital technology has consistently moved from far away to close to us.

Go back long enough, and computers the size of Buicks stayed in the back rooms of big companies. Most people never touched them. By the late 1970s, technology started moving to office desks—first as terminals connected to those hidden computers, and then as early personal computers. The next stage: We wanted digital technology in our homes, so we bought desktop PCs. A \"portable\" computer in the mid-1980s, like the first Compaq, was the size of a carry-on suitcase and about

as easy to lug as John Goodman. But by the 1990s, laptops got better and smaller, for the first time liberating digital technology from a place and attaching it more to a person.

Now we want our technology with us all the time. This era of the smartphone and tablet began with the iPhone in 2007. The \"with us\" era is accelerating even now: IBM announced that it's making its powerful Watson computing—the technology that beat humans on Jeopardy! —available in the cloud, so it can be accessed by consumers on a smart device. In technology's inexorable march from far away to close to us, and now with us, there are only three places left for it to go: on us, all around us, and then in us.

\"Wearable is the next paradigm shift,\" says Philippe Kahn, who invented the camera phone and today is developing innards for wearable tech. \"We are going to see a lot of innovation in wearable in the next seven years, by 2020.\"

Hard to know which products will catch on. Glasses are an obvious way to wear a screen, but most people don't want to look like a tech geek (极客). The masses might get interested if Google Glass can be invisibly built into hot-looking frames. A start-up called Telepathy is developing a slim arm that holds a microprojector that shoots images back to your eye. Another concept is to build a device with a tiny projector that suspends text or images out in front of you, like a heads-up display.

（分数：15.00）

(1).According to the passage, which of the following statements is INCORRECT? A. Wearable products are warmly welcomed by customers. B. Wearable products are a signal of new technology era. C. Samsung has launched its wearable gadget.

D. Wearable products are clumsy at this stage.（分数：3.00） A. √ B. C. D.

解析：细节题。第二段第一句提到，技术公司兴起一股可穿戴产品的浪潮，这些产品都很笨重，没有一款真正地流行起来，由此可知，可穿戴产品并没有受到消费者的热烈欢迎，故选A，同时排除D。第一段后半部分提到，可穿戴设备都是技术新时代的重要的早期信号，引领了多年的投资和创新，故排除B；第二段第二句提到，三星热切地推出了Galaxy Gear智能手表，故排除C。

(2).Compared to 1980s, what is the biggest development of portable computers in 1990s? A. They are easier to carry and closer to their users. B. Their appearance is more elegant.

C. They are found on desktop instead of back rooms.

D. Computer producers provide more brands for selection.（分数：3.00） A. √ B. C. D.

解析：细节题。根据第五段第二、三句可知，20世纪80年代中期的便携式电脑，例如康柏电脑，像手提箱那么大，携带起来就像拖拽着健硕的约翰·古德曼。但是到了20世纪90年代，笔记本电脑变得更好、更智能了，数字技术首次突破了地方的限制，与个人更紧密地结合起来。由此可知，A为正确答案。B和D文章没有提及，故排除；根据第四段第三句可知，C讲的是20世纪70年代的电脑与之前电脑的区别，故排除。

(3).According to the passage, what is the beginning of \"with us\" era? A. The invention of first Compaq. B. The use of desktop PCs.

C. The launch of iPhone. D. The use of Watson computing.（分数：3.00）

A. B. C. √ D.

解析：细节题。根据第六段前两句可知，现在，我们想让技术时刻在身边。智能手机和平板电脑的时代开始于2007年iPhone的发布。紧接着，第三句又提到，现在，“与我们同在”的时代依然在加速。由此可知，iPhone的推出标志着“与我们同在”时代的开端，故选C。

(4).What is Philippe Kahn's attitude towards wearable tech products? A. Pessimistic. B. Indifferent. C. Optimistic. D. Critical.（分数：3.00） A. B. C. √ D.

解析：态度题。根据第七段第二句可知，菲利普·卡恩称，在接下来的七年中，也就是到2020年，我们将会看到可穿戴设备的大量创新，由此可知，他对于可穿戴设备的态度是“乐观的”，故选C。A“悲观的”、B“漠不关心的”和D“批判的”均可排除。

(5).Why is Google Glass not accepted by most people?

A. Because it is too fashionable for ordinary people. B. Because people wearing it look like geeks. C. Because it is not so powerful to technology fans. D. Because its frame is invisible.（分数：3.00） A. B. √ C. D.

解析：细节题。根据第八段第二句可知，想要看一块屏幕，戴眼镜是一个显而易见的方式，但是大部分人都不想让自己看起来像一个极客。第八段第三句进一步提到，如果谷歌眼镜可以隐形地置于新潮的镜架内，大家可能会更有兴趣。由此可知，多数人没有接受谷歌眼镜，是因为戴着谷歌眼镜太像极客，故选B。

二、Text B(总题数：2，分数：25.00)

Because I married a photographer, once we had children, our holiday cards of course became vehicles for their cuteness and his creativity. In 2000, baby number one's chubby smiling face in a Santa hat was the cover image. In 2004, our now-four faces were ornaments on a tree. By 2006, we wore stocking caps and lay down in bed together with a thought bubble over our sleeping heads filled with cherries. Our best card was our last, in 2010. We dressed in extravagant holiday finery, gowns, jackets and bow-ties. We titled it: \"Don We Now Our Gay Apparel. \"

That was two years ago. We mailed it out in envelopes, signed, sealed and delivered by the US Postal Service and its analogues in distant lands. Good cheer and laughs in mailboxes all around! It's been downhill ever since. By last year, we'd let our mailing list go to seed. We communicated with most of our friends online and no longer had street addresses for them.

I didn't know it then but my world, my social world, was changing. Today, my 1,500 Facebook friends—1,300 of whom I have never actually met—have already seen the best of the year's haul of pictures of my kids. They also know where I've gone on vacation and sometimes, what I cooked for dinner or what I thought of a movie on a Saturday night in May. There's little point to writing a Christmas update now, with boasts about grades and athletic skill, hospitalizations and holidays, and the dog's accidents, when we have already posted these events and so much more of our trifles all year long. The urge to share has already been well satisfied.

Likewise, as receivers, we already have real-time windows into the lives of people thousands of miles away. We already know exactly how they've fared in the past year, much more than could possibly be conveyed by any single Christmas card. If a child or grandchild has been born to a former colleague or high school friend living across the continent, not only did l see it within

hours on Shutterfly or Instagram or Facebook, I might have seen him or her take his or her first steps on YouTube.

Still, the demise of the Christmas photo card saddens me. It predicts the end of the US Postal Service. It signals the day is near when writing on paper is non-existent. Finally, it is part of a decline of a certain quality of communication, one that involved delay and anticipation, forethought and reflection. Opening these cards, the satisfaction wasn't just in the Peace on Earth greeting, but in the recognition that a distant friend or relative you hadn't heard from in a year was still thinking about you, and maybe sharing news about major events of the past 12 months.

We know each other so well now, perhaps too well. And yet, all the time logged into our computers has also taken us away from our nearest and dearest. Who can say they spent as much time looking into the eyes of family, friends and neighbors as into the colorful phone or laptop screen last year? This season, instead of sending cards, my winter holiday greeting at the end of 2012 will be this: after posting the obligatory seasonal wishes online on Christmas Eve, I will be clicking off the electronic messaging services, and trying to connect in person with my friends, neighbors and family members for a change.

（分数：10.00）

(1).What does the phrase \"go to seed\" mean in Paragraph 2?

A. Being used. B. Out of use. C. Develop. D. Available.（分数：2.00） A. B. √ C. D.

解析：语义题。由“go to seed”定位到文章第二段第五句，该段第四句表明从两年前贺卡就一直在走下坡路，而第六句也提到我们和大部分朋友在线交流，也不再有他们的街道地址了，由此可知，第五句是指我们不再使用邮寄名单，所以选B“不再使用”。

(2).What is NOT mentioned as the things my Facebook friends know about me? A. My friends in real life. B. The place I spent my holiday. C. The dishes I cooked. D. My idea about a movie.（分数：2.00） A. √ B. C. D.

解析：细节题。文章第三段第二、三句提到我在脸谱网上的1500位好友——其中有1300位实际上我从未见过——都已看过我家孩子们这一年一堆照片中最好的那张。他们还知道我曾去过哪里度假，以及有时我晚餐做了什么菜或者我对五月的某个周六晚上的电影有何观感，A“我在现实生活中的朋友”在文中并未提及，所以为正确答案。B“我度假的地方”、C“我做的菜”和D“我的电影观后感”均有所提及，故排除。 (3).It can be inferred from Paragraphs 4 and 5 that ______. A. we can see other people's life through windows

B. it's easy to learn about distant friends over the network C. writing on paper doesn't exist any longer

D. opening photo cards gives us the satisfaction of peace（分数：2.00） A. B. √ C. D.

解析：推理题。文章第四段最后两句提到在过去的一年中，如果以前的同事或者高中朋友家里有小孩或孙子出生，而他又住在美国的另一边，我不仅在数小时之内从快门网、照片分享或脸谱网看到这一消息，而

且还可能已经在You Tube网上看过他或她蹒跚学步了，由此推知，通过网络可以很容易地得知远方朋友的信息，所以B为正确答案。A“我们可以通过窗户看到别人的生活”与第四段第一句提到的我们已经有一个实时窗口可以进入远在千里之外的人们的生活语义不符，故排除；第五段第三句提到这表明在纸上写字不复存在的那一天快要来临了，C“在纸上写字不再存在”夸大了文章原意，因此排除；D“打开这些卡片给我们带来对和平的满足感”与第五段最后一句提到的打开这些卡片，这种满足感不仅仅是来自对世界和平的祝福语义不符，故排除。

(4).In 2012 I will give my winter holiday greeting by ______. A. sending holiday photo cards B. sending all the wishes online

C. clicking on the electronic messaging services D. contacting with my friends personally（分数：2.00） A. B. C. D. √

解析：细节题。由最后一段最后一句可知，我打算2012年不寄送贺卡，而是在圣诞节前夜在线发完必须的节日祝福之后关闭电子传讯服务，并尽量亲自联系我的朋友、邻居和家人，以求改变，由此可知D“亲自联系我的朋友”符合文意，故为正确答案。A“寄节日照片贺卡”与文意相反，所以排除；B“在线发送所有的祝福”与文意不符，原文是在线发必须的节日祝福；C“点击电子传讯服务”与文意相反，也排除。 (5).Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A. How Did I Make the Holiday Photo Cards? B. What Is the Best Way to Connect with Friends? C. Why Did I Stop Sending Holiday Photo Cards? D. What Is the Disadvantage of Online Contact?（分数：2.00） A. B. C. √ D.

解析：主旨题。文章开篇讲述我们家从2000年到2010年都在自己制作节日照片贺卡，而如今我们已不再寄贺卡，而是和朋友在网上联系。接着提到由于网上信息共享，大家都了解彼此的近况，但我对圣诞节相片贺卡的消亡感到很难过。最后提到网络让我们能迅速掌握关于对方的消息，但其反而让我们远离了自己的亲朋挚友，为了避免这一问题，2012年的圣诞节我会亲自联系亲朋挚友，C“我为什么不再寄节日照片贺卡”作为主题更贴切，故为正确答案。A“我如何制作节日照片贺卡”仅在第一段中有所提及，故排除；B“联系朋友的最好方法是什么”在本文并未提及；D“在线联络的坏处”在最后一段提及，但不是全文主题，所以排除。

Simply walking through an unfamiliar neighborhood can make you feel more paranoid (偏执) and lower your trust in others.

In a study published in the journal Peer J, student volunteers who spent less than an hour in a more dangerous neighborhood showed significant changes in some of their social perceptions. The researchers' goal was to investigate the relationship between lower income neighborhoods and reduced trust and poor mental health. While the association is well known, the scientists, from Newcastle University in the UK, wanted to determine whether the connection was due to people reacting to the environment around them, or because those who are generally less trusting were more likely to live in troubled areas. Prior research showed that kids who grew up in such neighborhoods were less likely to graduate from high school and more likely to develop stress that can lead to depression.

The study took 50 students, sent half of them to a low income, high crime neighborhood and the other half to an affluent neighborhood with little crime. Before the students ventured into their respective areas, the researchers interviewed the neighborhood residents and found that residents of the high-crime neighborhood harbored more feelings of paranoia (偏执) and lower levels of social trust compared to the residents of the other neighborhood.

The students in the study were not from either neighborhood, and did not know what the study was about. They were dropped off by a taxi and told to deliver envelopes containing a packet of questions to a list of residential addresses. They spent 45 minutes walking around their assigned neighborhood distributing the envelopes. When the students returned, the researchers surveyed them about their experience, their feelings of trust, and their feelings of paranoia. Despite the short amount of time they spent in the neighborhoods, the students picked up the prevailing social attitudes of the residents living in those environments; those who went to the more dangerous neighborhood scored higher on measures of paranoia and lower on measures of trust compared to the other group, just as the residents had. Not only that, but their levels of reported paranoia and trust were indistinguishable from the residents who spent years living there. That came as an intriguing surprise to other experts. Ingrid Gould Ellen, the director of the Urban Planning Program at New York University Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, studies how the make-up of neighborhoods can impact the attitudes and interactions of people who live in them. In her research, she and her colleagues found that kids who live on blocks where violent crimes occurred the week before they took a standardized test performed worse on those tests than students from similar backgrounds who were not exposed to a violent crime in their neighborhood before their exam. But the fact that the paranoia and lack of trust set in after just a short time in the more troubled neighborhood suggested how powerful the influence of these environments can be. \"In the case of this UK study, it seems unlikely that study participants were actually exposed to crime during their brief visits. But somehow the physical or social cues in the neighborhood suggested to them that these were unsafe areas,\" says Ellen.

（分数：15.00）

(1).According to Paragraph 3, which of the following statements is CORRECT? A. The research showed relationships between trust and mental health. B. People who are not trustful tend to live in troubled areas. C. Kids from secure areas are more stressful.

D. Kids from troubled areas are more likely poorly-educated.（分数：3.00） A. B. C. D. √

解析：细节题。根据第三段最后一句可知，之前的研究表明，成长于混乱街区的孩子们更不容易从高中毕业，更容易感到压力，进而导致沮丧情绪。由此可知，来自混乱社区的孩子受教育水平较低，故选D，同时排除C。根据第三段第一句可知，研究者的目的在于调查较低收入者的社区和信任度降低、较差的心理健康之间的关系，故排除A；从第三段不能推出“不值得信任的人更愿意住在混乱社区”的结论，故排除B。 (2).After the short time assignment, the students were surveyed all of the following aspects EXCEPT their ______.

A. experience B. feelings of trust

C. feelings of paranoia D. feelings of depression（分数：3.00） A. B. C. D. √

解析：细节题。根据第五段最后一句可知，当学生们返回后，研究者们调查了他们的经历、信任感和偏执感的状况，分别对应A、B和C，故选D。

(3).According to the results of UK's experiment, which of the following is INCORRECT? A. Volunteers have the same social attitudes with long-time residents. B. Volunteers from troubled neighborhood have higher level of paranoia.

C. Volunteers get better results than long-time residents on levels of trust. D. Volunteers from troubled neighborhood have lower level of trust.（分数：3.00） A. B. C. √ D.

解析：细节题。根据第六段最后一句可知，学生们接受的偏执测试和信任测试的结果与在这里居住多年的居民相比没有差别，由此可知，C为答案。根据第六段第一句的前半部分可知，尽管他们在社区中待了一小段时间，学生们还是认同了那些环境中的居民们所普遍具有的社会态度，故排除A；根据第六段第一句后半部分可知，与其他群体相比，去更危险的社区的学生在偏执测试中得分更高，在信任测试中得分更低，故排除B和D。

(4).According to Ingrid Gould Ellen's research, we can draw a conclusion that ______. A. kids from troubled neighborhood perform poorer than those from affluent neighborhood B. kids exposed to violence perform poorer than those from similar background C. environment has more powerful influence on kids from troubled neighborhood D. environment has more powerful influence on kids exposed to violence（分数：3.00） A. B. √ C. D.

解析：细节题。根据第七段第三句可知，Ellen和同事们发现，如果孩子们住的几个街区于一个星期前发生了暴力犯罪，相比处于相同背景下但在之前没有接触到暴力犯罪的孩子们，其在标准化测试中的表现更差。由此可知，B为答案。A、C和D都不是其研究中得出的结论，故排除。 (5).Which of the following is the most suitable title for this passage? A. How to Establish the Feelings of Trust and Get Rid of Paranoia B. You Are Where You Live: Dangerous Neighborhoods Lead to Paranoid C. Closely Bonded: Neighborhood Safety and Resident Income

D. Born to Win: Neighborhood Environment Is the Key to Lead a Good Life（分数：3.00） A. B. √ C. D.

解析：主旨题。本文主要论述了居民区的环境与居民的社会认知之间的关系，并通过一系列的实验结果说明了社区环境的好坏与人们的信任感和偏执程度之间的辩证关系，由此可知，B最能概括本文的主旨，故为答案。

三、Text C(总题数：2，分数：25.00)

In The Art of Choosing, Sheena Iyengar, a business professor at Columbia University and a leading expert on decision making, tells us that making sound choices is even more difficult than we think. To learn how to make better decisions, we first need to become aware of the pitfalls (陷阱) we typically encounter.

Iyengar reveals, for example, that having many options to choose from does not lead to better outcomes, despite popular assumptions to the contrary. For instance, she found that consumers were far more likely to buy jam when given fewer flavor choices, not more. \"We frequently pay a mental and emotional tax for freedom of choice,\" she writes. To become better choosers, Iyengar proposes that when confronted with an abundance of options, people should focus first on the easiest elements of the decision and work up to the more complex parts.

She illustrates this point using one study in which Audi buyers had to choose among 144 total car features. One group started with the features that required fewer options, such as whether they wanted leather or upholstered interiors, and worked up to features with many options, such

as choosing among 56 colors for the car's interior and exterior. The other group started with the hardest choices and moved toward the easier ones. In the end, those in the group that went from the hardest to easiest spent an average of 1,500 euros more on their cars than the other group and reported they were less happy with their decisions.

Iyengar also explains that we often make decisions not based on our tastes but on how we think our decisions will be perceived. In 2000 a team of psychologists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Columbia University showed that people receiving a free sample of beer chose against their tastes to avoid looking like copycats to their peers. Individuals who picked their beers in private, however, chose what they enjoyed and said they were happy with their decisions. Iyengar points out that the people who chose against their tastes were often unconscious of what motivated their decisions. Thus, she proposes that one way to avoid strong and sometimes silent influences is to try to become more aware of them in the first place.

Ultimately, Iyengar wants us to recognize that our decisions—both the mundane (普通的) and momentous—are influenced by many factors and that the more we recognize those factors, the more satisfied we will be.

（分数：10.00）

(1).When faced with many choices, people should ______.

A. only focus on the easiest elements B. only focus on the hardest elements

C. start from the easiest to the hardest D. start from the hardest to the easiest（分数：2.00） A. B. C. √ D.

解析：细节题。根据第二段最后一句提到的艾杨格建议人们在面临大量选择时，首先应该把注意力集中于决策中最简单的环节上，然后再逐步过渡到较为复杂的环节上，由此可知C“由最容易的到最困难的”为正确答案，同时排除其他三个选项。

(2).Compared with the other group, those Audi buyers who started from the hardest choices to the easiest ones ______.

A. spent less money and were happier B. spent less money and were less happy

C. spent more money and were happier D. spent more money and were less happy（分数：2.00） A. B. C. D. √

解析：细节题。根据第三段最后一句提到的与另一组相比，这些由难到易小组的成员平均每人多花费1500欧元购车，并表明对自己的决定不是很满意，由此可知D为正确答案。其他选项均不符合文意，故排除。 (3).According to Paragraph 4, which of the following statements is INCORRECT?

A. People chose the beer against their tastes so that they wouldn't be thought to imitate others. B. People could realize what caused them to choose against their own tastes in public. C. People enjoyed the beer that they chose in private and were satisfied with the choice. D. People often chose the beer based on their tastes in private but against them in public.（分数：2.00） A. B. √ C. D.

解析：细节题。原文第四段第四句指出，做出违背自身喜好的人选择时，经常意识不到自己做此决定的动机，故B“人们能意识到是什么导致其在公共场合时会做出违背自身喜好的选择”是错误的表述，故B为

本题答案。而该段第二句提到喝免费啤酒的人选择违背自身喜好的口味是为了避免被认为是模仿者，所以A是对原文的同义转述，符合文意：本段第三句提到私下挑选啤酒的人会选择自己喜欢的口味并表示对自己的决定感到很高兴，因此C符合文意；D“在私下场合里人们进行选择时经常会按照自己的喜好来选，而在公开场合则会违背自身的喜好”可以很明显地从第四段的实验中推断得出，所以也是正确的陈述。 (4).To make a good decision, Iyengar made the following suggestions EXCEPT that we need to ______. A. know what difficulties we are facing with B. have more options to select from

C. notice those strong and silent influences at first

D. recognize more factors affecting our decisions（分数：2.00） A. B. √ C. D.

解析：细节题。原文第二段第一句指出，艾杨格表示，拥有更多的选项并不能带来更好的结果，由此可知，B“我们需要拥有更多的选项来供我们选择”并不是艾杨格所提出的建议，故为本题答案。原文第一段最后一句指出要学会如何做出更好的决定，首先我们需要弄明白哪些是通常会遇到的困难，A“我们需要知道我们所面临的问题”符合该建议所表述的内容，故排除；原文第四段最后一句指出艾杨格提出有一种方式能避免这些强大的、潜移默化的影响因素，那就是从一开始我们就更加了解这些影响因素，C“我们首先需要注意这些潜移默化的强大的影响因素”符合该句文意，故排除；原文最后一段表明艾杨格想让我们认识到，我们的决定——不论是普通的还是重大的——都受到许多因素的影响，而我们对这些因素的认识越多，我们就会感觉越满意，D“我们需要意识到更多的影响我们决定的因素”正是艾杨格在本段所提出的建议，故也排除。

(5).What does the passage mainly discuss? A. How to make better decisions. B. The factors affecting our decisions.

C. How to recognize the factors influencing our choices. D. The obstacles in making better choices.（分数：2.00） A. √ B. C. D.

解析：主旨题。在本文第一段中艾杨格建议人们要做出更好的决定，首先需要了解哪些是会遇到的困难；在第二段中艾杨格认为拥有很多的选择并不能导致更好的结果，所以她建议人们在面临大量选择时，应该由易到难；该建议在第三段中通过对比两组奥迪汽车购买者得到了进一步说明和强调；在第四段中艾杨格通过在公开场合选择啤酒口味的例子说明有很多潜移默化的因素会影响人们的决定，她建议避免这些影响的方法就是从一开始就更了解它们；在最后一段中艾杨格建议人们了解更多影响决定的因素。综上所述，我们可以看出本文主要阐明的是艾杨格建议如何做出更好的决定，A“如何做出更好的决定”是正确答案。B“影响我们决定的因素”、C“如何认识这些会影响我们选择的因素”和D“那些影响我们做出更好选择的障碍”虽然都是本文所提及的内容，但并不是本文的主旨所在，故均排除。

First the good news: 9 in 10 people said they were satisfied with their jobs or the work that they do—and that remained steady throughout 2008, despite the economy. And now the bad, even if it's not so surprising: The number of people who said their employer reduced the size of the workforce rose dramatically during the year, from 15% in the first quarter to 23% in the fourth quarter.

That's according to a survey from Gallup and health management company Healthways. Nearly each day in 2008, about l,000 adults were asked about their physical, emotional, economic and workplace well-being. When it came to their work environment, many of the 355,334 people surveyed by phone were positive. But there were some labor pains.

Just 47% of respondents from Hawaii said they were satisfied with their jobs, used their strengths

at work, were treated by a supervisor as a partner and worked in an \"open, trusting environment\". That was the lowest score of any state on a work environment index that was compiled by calculating positive responses in those four areas. Utah nabbed top honors, with 59% of its respondents saying those four elements were prevalent in work lives. Among the biggest differences between Utah and Hawaii: 73% of Utah respondents said their supervisor created a trusting environment, while only 58% of folks in Hawaii felt that way. The national average was 65%. The Gallup-Healthways AHIP Congressional Report didn't offer any insights into why Utah ruled and Hawaii ranked so poorly on the workplace front.

Hawaii's residents took the No. 1 slot in another two survey areas, emotional health and living conditions. \"Maybe having a job while you're in paradise may not be all that great,\" says Jim Harter, a chief scientist of workplace and well-being at Gallup.

Utah has done well in separate workplace studies, as well. After considering factors such as unemployment rate, job growth, income growth, median household income and the cost of living, Moody's Economy.com named its capital, Salt Lake City, the best US city to work in for 2007 and 2008. But those glory days have faded, says Gus Faucher, Moody's Economy. corn director of macroeconomics. Utah's housing boom turned into a bust later than most states. The national recession began in December 2007, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. Salt Lake City's recession began in November 2008, according to Moody's Economy.com.

From a non-economic angle, Faucher says he can see why Utah would earn strong marks on the work front. \"The state is really Mormon, so there is a sense of solidarity\" among many employees, he says. \"People feel very connected to each other.\" Also, with its high birth rate, Utah has a robust population of younger employees who often add enthusiasm to the workplace, Faucher says. That's the case at the Wasatch Music Coaching Academy in Salt Lake City, school owner David Murphy says. Most instructors are between 22 and 35 years old and are extremely passionate and excited about teaching students, he says. Murphy, 52, who says he has a \"dream\" job, takes a collaborative approach in managing all staffers, \"I see myself working side by side with my staff, not over my staff./

（分数：15.00）

(1).What can we infer from the first two paragraphs? A. The economy of 2008 is still steady. B. More people had to change their jobs.

C. From Jan. to Apr. , about 54,000 people lost their jobs. D. Most of the people surveyed felt hopeless.（分数：3.00） A. B. √ C. D.

解析：细节题。首段最后一句讲到，称今年老板有裁员行为的人数显著增长，从第一季度的15%增至第四季度的23%，这说明越来越多的老板开始裁员了，所以更多的人不得不更换工作，故B正确。首段首句提到工作满意度是稳定的，尽管经济不怎么样，所以A错误；从第二段每日1000人接受调查可以计算出全年共有大约36.5万人接受调查，所以根据第一段最后一句的数据容易计算出C中的数字，但是这些数字仅仅表示所在公司有裁员现象的受访者的数量，并非被裁掉员工的数量，故排除C；D与第二段倒数第二句中的“积极的(positive)”相悖，也排除。

(2).The word \"ruled\" in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ______. A. decreed B. governed C. prevailed D. paralleled（分数：3.00） A. B. C. √

D.

解析：语义题。从本段的几组数据以及论述中可以看出，在本段所提及的四个方面当中，犹他州均优于夏威夷；此外，从本段最后一句“Hawaii ranked so poolly”中也可以推测出rule这个词的含义应该是“占上风”，故C正确。A“颁布”、B“统治”和D相当”均与句意不符。

(3).From Paragraph 4, we can infer all of the following EXCEPT that ______.

A. Hawaii's residents may feel more relaxed B. the word \"paradise\" may refer to Hawaii C. people may prefer living to working in Hawaii D. Jim Harter may be a scientist in Hawaii（分数：3.00） A. B. C. D. √

解析：推理题。本段大意为：夏威夷居民在精神健康和居住环境满意度两项调查中拔得头筹，并由此引起了一个民意调查科学家的感慨——在天堂上班也许不那么好。所以，此处天堂一定指的是夏威夷；而且由此可以看出，夏威夷更适合居住而不适合上班；另外可以推断出当地居民虽然对于工作满意度不高，但他们的精神是放松的、健康的。所以A、B和C都可以从本段中找到推断依据，但文中并没有充分的依据推出D，所以D应为正确答案。

(4).Which of the following is CORRECT about Utah? A. Wasatch Music Coaching Academy is located in Utah. B. Utah had advantage over Hawaii in all aspects. C. Utah's economy remained booming till December 2007.

D. In 2008, almost every, day about 1,000 adults were surveyed in Utah.（分数：3.00） A. √ B. C. D.

解析：细节题。根据最后一段可以看出，Wasatch Music Coaching Academy坐落在盐湖城，而根据第五段前两句可以得出，盐湖城正是犹他州的首府，所以A正确。第四段说到，夏威夷在精神健康和居住环境两项调查当中取得了第一名，B与之不符；第五段倒数第三句指明犹他州的楼市衰退比美国大多数州要晚，紧接着下一句阐述了全美的经济衰退开始于2007年的12月份，而盐湖城作为犹他州的首府以及经济中心衰退于2008年的11月，故C不正确；文章第二段第二句讲到，2008年，几乎每一天有1000人接受民意调查，但未指明是在犹他州；而且从第三段第二句中的“the lowest score of any state”可以确定此项调查是针对全美展开的，故排除D。

(5).What's the author's intention of referring to the case of Wasatch Music Coaching Academy in the last paragraph?

A. To prove that Utah indeed has a higher birth rate.

B. To support Faucher's viewpoint about strong marks on the work front in Utah. C. To show that Murphy is really a qualified principal. D. To tell us young teachers are good for school.（分数：3.00） A. B. √ C. D.

解析：推理题。本段开头Faucher提出问题：为什么犹他州在工作地点方面得到较高的分数。接下来他就此问题进行了论述，基本有两方面原因：一是犹他州居民的宗教信仰使得员工之间团结一致，相互合作；二是此地出生率很高，拥有更年轻的员工并且他们的工作热情高。下文提到Wasatch Music Coaching Academy的例子就是为了支持Faucher论述的观点，由此可知，B是正确答案。

四、Text D(总题数：2，分数：27.00)

Executive coaching is primarily concerned with confidential one-to-one discussions between the coach and the executive. It is aimed at performance improvement. Primary needs are diagnosed and agreed upon, a \"developmental-action plan\" is drawn up, the skill base of the executive is broadened by coaching, and then the new skill sets are tested in the workplace under the guidance of the coach. Sometimes, these needs involve team coaching, but individual coaching is the normal starting point. The coach needs to guide the executive outside his or her comfort zone in order to improve performance.

A coaching assignment normally focuses on two or three developmental needs of the individual, and lasts for 6 to 12 months. However, it sometimes involves multiple assignments aimed at bringing about cultural change in an organization. For example, a new chief executive may want to change the culture of his organization. He could then hire a coach,and brief him or her to change the mindset of his direct subordinates on a one-to-one basis.

Compared with traditional management training, which is typically related to broadbased organizational change, sometimes of a technical nature, executive coaching is targeted to individual and small-group change. The primary focus of coaching is often behavioural and leadership change, and is rarely of a technical nature. The difference between coaching and training is that coaching is one-to-one, highly confidential and over 6-12 months, whereas training is typically of a short-term, group-work-shop nature.

Referring to the key ingredients for enhanced performance and team success, business coaching has a lot to learn from sports.

According to sports coaches, a coach is a catalyst for change, and is not paid to preserve the status quo, but to lift people out of their comfort zone, so that they grow and develop. The coach must stay in touch with the state of the art and extract from it what is relevant.

All sports coaches believe passionately in the power of the team to lift performance not by just a little, but by 100%. Considerable energy is devoted to defining goals, roles, a code of conduct and to fostering group dynamics in order to optimize team productivity.

Both success and failure are learning opportunities, and there is a severity in their cold-eyed, weekly analysis, which business has yet to develop. Top athletes scrutinize both success and failure with their coach to extract lessons from them, but they are never distracted from longer-term goals.

To be a champion athlete means developing an elitist attitude—not involving arrogance, but rather an unceasing desire to learn and improve. They never accept second best ,but always strive for what has not yet been achieved.

There must be a sport/life balance, so that athletes are not obsessed by their goals, and thus lack a sense of perspective to cope with inevitable failure or occasional success, or the ability to re-charge their batteries outside the sporting arena.

（分数：12.00）

(1).According to the passage, what is the main task of \"executive coaching\"? A. Teaching executives skills they have not before. B. Assisting executives to run their businesses.

C. Making a series of rules for executives to manage their subordinates.

D. Improving the team work of staff in the executives' organizations.（分数：2.00） A. √ B. C. D.

解析：细节题。文中第一段最后一句提到教练需要引导高层领导人走出自己的舒适区以寻求新的突破。由此可推知，总裁教练术的主要任务是要帮助总裁们掌握某些他们原来不具备的技能，而不仅仅是帮助他们经营企业、管理下属或提高团队凝聚力等，故选A。

(2).Which of the following differences between executive coaching and traditional management training is NOT mentioned in the passage?

A. The time extent. B. The object. C. The content. D. The expense.（分数：2.00） A. B. C. D. √

解析：细节题。文中第三段谈到了传统管理培训与总裁教练术的区别“The difference between coaching and training is that coaching is one-to-one, highly confidential and over 6-12 months, whereas training is typically of a short-term, group-work-shop nature.”这段话里提到了两种培训的对象、方式以及时间长短等。此外，通过文中的叙述也可知，两种培训的训练目的和任务也是不同的。但是全篇并未提到培训的费用问题，故选D。

(3).Which of the following statements is INCORRECT according to Paragraph 5? A. Executive coaches update their minds constantly. B. Coaches are aimed to broaden people's horizon.

C. It's difficult to evaluate the performance of a coach.

D. If a coach can not make the executive get touch with something unfamiliar, he will probably be fired.（分数：2.00） A. B. C. √ D.

解析：细节题。第五段中提到，教练的任务不是维持现状，而是要带领人们有所提高。这里明确提出了判断教练任务完成的好坏标准。A“教练要不断更新思维”与文中“The coach must stay in touch with the state of the art”意思相符，B和D可从文中“...a coach...is paid to preserve the status quo, but to lift people out of their comfort zone”得到验证。只有C说法错误，故为正确答案。 (4).Which of the following is CORRECT about team work?

A. Team spirit enhances individuals' performances to some extent. B. It's a hard job to improve team work.

C. The core to team dynamics is the capability of the leader.

D. Team training is much more effective than individual coaching.（分数：2.00） A. B. √ C. D.

解析：细节题。根据第六段内容可知，团队培训有助于个人能力的提高，但需要投人大量的精力

“considerable energy”，可知B正确。A“团队整体水平提升在一定程度上对个人发展有促进”与文中“not by just a little, but by 100%”意思不符，C和D在文中都未提及，故排除。

(5).The following can be learnt from sports by executive coaching EXCEPT that ______. A. excellent person needs strong desire to achieve the top B. failure is good experience from which we can extract lessons C. success lies on changes

D. successful people should learn how to balance the career and life（分数：2.00） A. B. C. √

D.

解析：推理题。由文中倒数第二段第二句“They never accept second best, but always strive for what has not yet been achieved.”可知，A“一个优秀的人对最高目标要有强烈的渴望”符合文意；由倒数第三段中的“Both success and failure are learning opportunities”和“Top athletes scrutinize both success and failure with their coach to extract lessons from them”可推知，B“失败也是一种很好的经历，我们可以从中吸取教训”正确；再由最后一段第一句“There must be a sport/life balance, so that athletes are not obsessed by their goals”可知，D“成功人士需要学会如何平衡职业和生活”正确。C“成功来自于改变”在本文中并未提及，故选C。 (6).With the passage, the author intends to ______.

A. introduce the job of executive coaching B. compare executive coaching and sports coaching C. explain the tasks of executive coaching D. tell the aims of executive coaching（分数：2.00） A. √ B. C. D.

解析：主旨题。B、C和D的内容在文中都有所提及，但都不是本文主要内容。本文作者对总裁培训术这一工作做了较为完整的介绍，只有A是全面的，故为答案。

Children as young as four will study Shakespeare in a project being launched today by the Royal Shakespeare Company.

The RSC is holding its first national conference for primary school teachers to encourage them to use the Bard's plays imaginatively in the classroom from reception classes onwards. The conference will be told that they should learn how Shakespearian characters like Puck in A

Midsummer Night's Dream, are \"jolly characters\" and how to write about them.

At present, the national curriculum does not require pupils to approach Shakespeare until secondary school. All it says is that pupils should study \" texts drawn from a variety of cultures and traditions\" and \"myths, legends and traditional stories\".

However, educationists at the RSC believe children will gain a better appreciation of Shakespeare if they are introduced to him at a much younger age. \"Even very young children can enjoy Shakespeare's plays,\" said Mary Johnson, head of the learning department. \"It is just a question of pitching it for the age group. Even reception classes and key stage one pupils (five-to seven-year-olds) can enjoy his stories. For instance, if you build up Puck as a character who skips, children of that age can enjoy the character. They can be inspired by Puck and they could even start writing about him at that age. \"

It is the RSC's belief that building the Bard up as a fnn playwright in primary school could counter some of the negative images conjured up about teaching Shakespeare in secondary, schools. Then, pupils have to concentrate on scenes from the plays to answer questions for compulsory English national-curriculum tests for 14-year-olds. Critics of the tests have complained that pupils no longer have the time to study or read the whole play—and therefore lose interest in Shakespeare. However, Ms. Johnson is encouraging teachers to present 20-minute versions of the plays—a classroom version of the Royal Shakespeare Company's Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged) which told his 37 plays in 97 minutes—to give pupils a flavour of the whole drama.

The RSC's venture coincides with a call for schools to allow pupils to be more creative in writing about Shakespeare. Professor Kate McLuskie, the new director of the University of Birmingham's Shakespeare Institute—also based in Stratford—said it was time to get away from the idea that there was \"a right answer\" to any question about Shakespeare. Her first foray into the world of Shakespeare was to berate him as a misogynist in a 1985 essay but she now insists this should not be interpreted as a criticism of his works—although she admits : \"I probably wouldn't have written it quite the same way if I had been writing it now. What we should be doing is making sure that someone is getting something out of Shakespeare,\" she said. \"People are very scared

about getting the right answer. I know it's difficult but I don't care if they come up with a right answer that I can agree with about Shakespeare. /

（分数：15.00）

(1).What is the passage mainly concerned with? A. How to give pupils a flavour of Shakespeare drama. B. The fun of reading Shakespeare.

C. RSC project will teach children how to write on Shakespeare.

D. RSC project will help four-year-old children find the fun in Shakespeare.（分数：3.00） A. B. C. D. √

解析：主旨提。文章第一段“Children as young as four will study Shakespeare in a project being launched today by the Royal Shakespeare Company.”点明了文章的中心是讲皇家莎士比亚公司计划从四岁大的孩子开始培养他们对莎士比亚戏剧的了解和热爱，所以D为正确答案。

(2).What's Puck's characteristic according to your understanding of the passage? A. Rude, rush and impolite. B. Happy, interesting and full of fun.

C. Dull, absurd and ridiculous. D. Shrewd, cunning and tricky.（分数：3.00） A. B. √ C. D.

解析：推理题。文中第二段“...how Shakespearian characters like Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream are 'jolly characters' and how to write about them.”提到，Puck是莎士比亚剧作《仲夏夜之梦》中的喜剧人物，并且该角色是推荐给孩子们欣赏、学习的，据此可以推测该人物的性格应该是快乐、有趣，并且很讨孩子们喜欢的，所以B是正确答案。

(3).Which of the following is INCORRECT according to the passage? A. The RSC insists on teaching Shakespeare from the secondary school.

B. Pupils should study \"texts drawn from a variety of cultures and traditions\" required by the national curriculum.

C. The national curriculum does not require pupils to approach Shakespeare until secondary school now.

D. RSC believes children will gain a better appreciation of Shakespeare if they are introduced to him at a much younger age.（分数：3.00） A. √ B. C. D.

解析：细节题。从第二段“The RSC is holding its first national conference for primary school teachers to encourage them to use the Bard's plays imaginatively in the classroom from reception classes onwards.”可知，皇家莎士比亚公司极力主张从小就培养孩子对莎士比亚戏剧的认识，所以A的说法不正确，故为答案。

(4).Ms. Johnson encourages teachers to present 20-minute versions of the plays in order to ______. A. introduce them into the world of Shakespeare B. deal with the final examination on Shakespeare C. give pupils a flavour of the whole drama

D. strengthen the students with the knowledge of Shakespeare（分数：3.00） A.

B. C. √ D.

解析：细节题。从文章第六段“However, Ms. Johnson is encouraging teachers to present 20-minute versions of the plays...to give pupils a flavor of the whole drama.”可以明确得出C为正确答案。 (5).Which of the following is INCORRECT according to the last paragraph? A. Professor Kate McLuskie once scolded Shakespeare in her essay. B. Professor Kate McLuskie insisted on her view on Shakespeare till now. C. Professor Kate McLuskie has changed her idea now.

D. Ms. Kate thinks it was time to get away from the idea that there was \"a right answer\" to any question about Shakespeare.（分数：3.00） A. B. √ C. D.

解析：细节题。文章最后一段通过凯特教授提出了如何阅读莎士比亚的问题。从“ahhough she admits:'I probably wouldn't have written it quite the same way if I had been writing it now.'”可知，她曾经在早年写文章认为莎士比亚是位厌女主义者，但是现在她已不从这个角度看待莎士比亚及其作品了，这说明她的看法改变了，因此B的说法是错误的，所以B是正确答案。