2008年6月四级阅读真题全解析
Passage OneQuestions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.
Global warming may or may not be the great environmental crisis of the 21st century, but—regardless of whether it is or isn’t - we won’t do much about it. We will argue over it and may even, as a nation, make some fairly solemn-sounding commitments to avoid it. But the more dramatic and meaningful these commitments seem, the less likely they are to be observed.
Al Gore calls global warming an “inconvenient truth,” as if merely recognizing it could put us on a path to a solution. But the real truth is that we don’t know enough to relieve global warming, and—without major technological breakthroughs—we can’t do much about it.
From 2003 to 2050, the world’s population is projected to grow from 6.4 billion to 9.1 billion, a 42% increase. If energy use per person and technology remain the same, total energy use and greenhouse gas emissions (mainly, CO2) will be 42% higher in 2050. But that’s too low, because societies that grow richer use more energy. We need economic growth unless we condemn the world’s poor to their present poverty and freeze everyone else’s living standards. With modest growth, energy use and greenhouse emissions more than double by 2050.
No government will adopt rigid restrictions on economic growth and personal freedom (limits on electricity usage, driving and travel) that might cut back global warming. Still, politicians want to show they’re “doing something.” Consider the Kyoto Protocol (京都议定书). It allowed countries that joined to punish those that didn’t. But it hasn’t reduced CO2 emissions (up about 25% since 1990), and many signatories (签字国) didn’t adopt tough enough policies to hit their 2008-2012 targets.
The practical conclusion is that if global warming is a potential disaster, the only solution is new technology. Only an aggressive research and development program might find ways of breaking our dependence on fossil fuels or dealing with it.
The trouble with the global warming debate is that it has become a moral problem when it’s really an engineering one. The inconvenient truth is that if we don’t solve the engineering problem, we’re helpless.
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
57. What is said about global warming in the first paragraph?
A) It may not prove an environmental crisis at all.
B) It is an issue requiring worldwide commitments.
C) Serious steps have been taken to avoid or stop it.
D) Very little will be done to bring it under control.
58. According to the author’s understanding, what is A1 Gore’s view on global warming?
A) It is a reality both people and politicians are unaware of.
B) It is a phenomenon that causes us many inconveniences.
C) It is a problem that can be solved once it is recognized.
D) It is an area we actually have little knowledge about.
59. Greenhouse emissions will more than double by 2050 because of ________.
A) economic growth
B) wasteful use of energy
C) the widening gap between the rich and poor
D) the rapid advances of science and technology
60. The author believes that, since the signing of the Kyoto Protocol, ________.
A) politicians have started to do something to better the situation
B) few nations have adopted real tough measures to limit energy use
C) reductions in energy consumption have greatly cut back global warming
D) international cooperation has contributed to solving environmental problems
61. What is the message the author intends to convey?
A) Global warming is more of a moral issue than a practical one.
B) The ultimate solution to global warming lies in new technology.
C) The debate over global warming will lead to technological breakthroughs.
D) People have to give up certain material comforts to stop global warming.
这是一篇讲述全球变暖问题的材料。关于全球变暖在当前如何解决，作者指出了两点，一是它已经演变成了道德问题，二是只能通过技术突破来解决。
第一段开头作者抛出了自己的独特观点：we won’t do much about it。而后作了一定的解释，认为人们会讨论全球变暖问题(We will argue over it)，甚而做出解决问题的姿态，但这类姿态却不会诉诸于行动(the less likely they are to be observed)。
下一段引用了美国前副总统戈尔的观点：inconvenient truth，意思是承认了问题就能解决问题。作者并不同意戈尔的观点，并指出单单承认问题是不够，解决问题的方法是重大技术突破(major technological breakthroughs)。
第三段的内容比较长，作者列举了详细数据论证在未来的50年时间内温室气体排放量的增长幅度。作者的目的在于突出问题的严重性，以便和下一段中政府不愿削减能耗的论述形成对比，彰显出政府为了各自的利益而置环境问题而不顾。这就是在作者看来的道德问题。
既然各国政府不愿进行能耗削减，那么解决问题的办法只有一个：新技术突破。倒数第二段具体论述了新技术突破作为全球变暖问题出路的观点(the only solution is new technology)。
最后一段从另一个方面论述了新技术突破作为问题解决办法的必要性，也就是在道德层面(政府不作为)无法解决问题的情况，必须从工程(engineering，实际指的是技术革新)的角度去实现突破，否则就是彻底的helpless了。
57. D
题目问哪个是第一段中有关全球变暖的说法。
A，全球变暖可能根本就不会发展为环境危机。
B，这是一个需要全世界都付出努力的课题。
C，为避免或阻止全球变暖，已经采取了重大步骤。
D，将不会采取什么措施来控制全球变暖。
第一段并不容易理解，因为作者在这里玩弄了一些文字游戏，如may or may not和whether it is or isn’t，其真实意图不好把握。第一段可以分为两个语意群，第一句算是一个语意群，后面两句合为一个语意群。
从字面意思上看，第一句意思是全球变暖可能成为危机也可能不会变成危机，但不管会否变为，我们都不会采取什么措施。这是一个转折句，通常情况下，转折之后的句子具有更重要的意义，或者说体现了作者的真实意图。那么从这一句可以判断出全球变暖会否成为危机并不是这个句子关注的焦点，焦点是我们不会采取措施来应对它。这样的话，A就是错误选项，而D是对的。
后面两句的大意是：我们会讨论这个问题，甚至会做出堂皇的姿态来避免全球变暖，但这些姿态越堂皇，其得以实施的可能性越小。这个语意群的重心同样在转折以后，也就是这些姿态(即提出的措施)被实行的可能性很小。这个意思和D的说法保持一致。由此可以判断D为正确答案。
58. C
根据作者的理解，Gore对全球变暖的观点是什么。
A，全球变暖是一项事实，但大众和政治家都没有意识到它。
B，这是一种会给我们带来诸多不便的现象。
C，全球变暖一旦被人们认识到，就会得以解决。
D，我们对全球变暖实际上知之甚少。
第二段提到Gore的观点只用了一个词组，即inconvenient truth，字面意思是“会给人们带来不方便的真相”，从这个词组无法判断出其具体含义。不过此后作者使用了一个as if从句，对这个词组进行描述，应该是作者对Gore观点的理解。As if merely recognizing it could put us on a path to a solution，直译为“好像仅仅承认它就会使我们走上解决它的道路”，意思也就是承认它就能解决它。这应该是作者对Gore观点的全部理解，此后的几句以But引出转折，应该是作者开始表达自己的观点，与Gore无关。
四个选项中，C的说法与上文的分析一致。A所说的unaware是没有意识到、不知道的意思，和“承认”不同。B是对inconvenient truth字面意思的望文生义。D的说法和Gore的观点相去甚远，更可能是结合But之后作者自己的观点而安排的迷惑选项。
59. A
温室排放量到2050年不止于翻倍，原因是什么。
A，经济增长
B，能源的浪费使用
C，贫富差距拉大
D，科技的快速发展
More than double by 2050出现在第三段的末尾：With modest growth, energy use and greenhouse emissions more than double by 2050——介词with可以表示原因，或伴随状态，实际上提示了温室排放翻倍的原因是modest growth，即适度增长。这里的增长当然是指经济增长，economic作了承前省略处理。单从这个句子就可以判断出正确答案是A。
实际上这四个选项在第三大段中都有所提及，需要做出分辨。能源的浪费使用和温室排放之间联系非常紧密，可以认为前者实际上等于后者，因为能源使用的同时即是在排放温室气体。能源的浪费使用并不能准确地解释为什么温室排放量会超过2倍地增长。
第三段第四句话提到了穷人，但这里的意思是说除非我们想让穷人永远穷下去，否则就需要实现经济增长。此句的目的在于说明经济增长的必要性，和温室排放量的关系不够紧密。
从文意来看，科技的快速发展是减少温室排放的有效途径，因此说D的说法起到的是相反的作用，而不会使排放量增长到2倍。
60. B
作者认为，京都议定书签订以来……
A，政治家们已经开始动手改变形势。
B，很少有国家采取了真正严格的措施限制能源的使用。
C，能耗的消减已经大大减缓全球变暖形势。
D，已经出现了致力于解决环境问题的国际合作。
文章提到京都议定书是在第四段中间的一句(Consider the Kyoto protocol)，而后开始对京都议定书进行评述。一共两句话，It allowed countries that joined to punish those that didn’t，意思是它允许加入该议定书的国家惩罚不加入的国家，这应该是指该议定书的功能。这一功能到底能否达到了呢?下面一句给出了答案，But it hasn’t reduced CO2 emissions (up about 25% since 1990), and many signatories didn’t adopt tough enough policies to hit their 2008-2012 targets，这里给出了两点结果，一是它没有减少二氧化碳排放量，二是许多签署国没有采取足够严格的措施来实现2008-2012的目标。这里所说的目标应该就是像B所说的限制能源的使用，所以B的说法是对的。
61. B
题目问作者想要传达什么信息。
A，相较于实际问题，全球变暖更是道德问题。
B，全球变暖的终极解决办法有赖于新技术。
C，有关全球变暖的争论将会引发技术革命。
D，为了阻止全球变暖，人们必须放弃某些物质享受。
与A相关的内容是最后一段第一句话，the trouble with the global warming debate is that it has become a moral problem when it’s really engineering one，这里出现了moral problem，A的说法正好源于此。这里的engineering one是指工程问题，也就是实际问题。在engineering one之前作者使用了really一词，说明作者更倾向于认为全球变暖是一个实际问题，只是现实情况是它变成了一个道德问题，体现出作者的一种无奈感。
倒数第二段提到了B所说的新技术：the only solution is new technology，解决全球变暖问题的唯一办法就是新技术。后面的一句是对这个观点的进一步说明，可以说B的说法是符合文意的。
关于技术革命和全球变暖争论之间的关系，应该是技术革命会解决全球变暖问题，这也是作者所持的观点。而根据最后一段的说法，关于全球变暖问题的争论已经演变成道德问题，和技术革命没有关系，所以C的说法不对。
至于D，在文章中没有涉及到放弃某些物质享受的内容，应该属于生造出来的选项，所以可以排除。
Passage Two
Questions 62 to 66 are based on the following passage.
Someday a stranger will read your e-mail without your permission or scan the Websites you’ve visited. Or perhaps someone will casually glance through your credit card purchases or cell phone bills to find out your shopping preferences or calling habits.
In fact, it’s likely some of these things have already happened to you. Who would watch you without your permission? It might be a spouse, a girlfriend, a marketing company, a boss, a cop or a criminal. Whoever it is, they will see you in a way you never intended to be seen – the 21st century equivalent of being caught naked.
Psychologists tell us boundaries are healthy, that it’s important to reveal yourself to friends, family and lovers in stages, at appropriate times. But few boundaries remain. The digital bread crumbs (碎屑) you leave everywhere make it easy for strangers to reconstruct who you are, where you are and what you like. In some cases, a simple Google search can reveal what you think. Like it or not, increasingly we live in a world where you simply cannot keep a secret.
The key question is: Does that matter?
For many Americans, the answer apparently is “no.”
When opinion polls ask Americans about privacy, most say they are concerned about losing it. A survey found an overwhelming pessimism about privacy, with 60 percent of respondents saying they feel their privacy is “slipping away, and that bothers me.”
But people say one thing and do another. Only a tiny fraction of Americans change any behaviors in an effort to preserve their privacy. Few people turn down a discount at tollbooths (收费站) to avoid using the EZ-Pass system that can track automobile movements. And few turn down supermarket loyalty cards. Privacy economist Alessandro Acquisti has run a series of tests that reveal people will surrender personal information like Social Security numbers just to get their hands on a pitiful 50-cents-off coupon (优惠券).
But privacy does matter – at least sometimes. It’s like health: When you have it, you don’t notice it. Only when it’s gone do you wish you’d done more to protect it.
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
62. What does the author mean by saying “the 21st century equivalent of being caught naked” (Lines 3-4, Para. 2)?
A) People’s personal information is easily accessed without their knowledge.
B) In the 21st century people try every means to look into others’ secrets.
C) People tend to be more frank with each other in the information age.
D) Criminals are easily caught on the spot with advanced technology.
63. What would psychologists advise on the relationships between friends?
A) Friends should open their hearts to each other.
B) Friends should always be faithful to each other.
C) There should be a distance even between friends.
D) There should be fewer disputes between friends.
64. Why does the author say “we live in a world where you simply cannot keep a secret” (Line5, Para. 3)?
A) Modern society has finally evolved into an open society.
B) People leave traces around when using modern technology.
C) There are always people who are curious about others’ affairs.
D) Many search engines profit by revealing people’s identities.
65. What do most Americans do with regard to privacy protection?
A) They change behaviors that might disclose their identity.
B) They use various loyalty cards for business transactions.
C) They rely more and more on electronic devices.
D) They talk a lot but hardly do anything about it.
66. According to the passage, privacy is like health in that ________.
A) people will make every effort to keep it
B) its importance is rarely understood
C) it is something that can easily be lost
D) people don’t cherish it until they lose it
这篇材料讲的是信息时代的隐私保护问题，大体可以分成两个部分，前三段是信息时代隐私遭到泄露的现状，后面几段讲的是人们保护隐私的现实情况。
第一段举出了几种偷窥隐私的途径，首先是电子邮件(a stranger will read your e-mail)或网站浏览记录(scan the Websites you’ve visited)，然后是信用卡消费记录和手机话费单(glance through your credit card purchases or cell phone bills)。
第二段则分析了什么人会窥视隐私。作者认为可能会是配偶、女友、老板、警察、罪犯等等，范围之广确实会吓人一跳，难怪作者会惊呼21世纪的信息泄露如同从前被人偷窥裸体。
第三段论述了隐私泄露的普遍程度。如今，人与人之间界限缺失(few boundaries remain)，人们会四处留下数字信息，从而将个人隐私泄露出去(make it easy for strangers to reconstruct who you are, where you are and what you like)。甚至简单的Google搜索都能接触到个人的秘密(a simple Google search can reveal what you think)。最后作者得出结论：我们现在生活在一个很难保住秘密的世界(a world where you simply cannot keep a secret)。
后面的几段讲的是现实生活中人们保护的隐私的态度。两个大段分别从“说”和“做”两个方面进行了论述。第一个大段指出人们对隐私泄露是心存忧虑的(most say they are concerned about losing it)，第二个大段则列举人们在生活中如何言行不一，不注重隐私的保护。
最后一段作者向人们提出了告诫——Only when it’s gone do you wish you’d done more to protect it，告诉人们不要等到隐私泄露了再去后悔。
62. A
题目问作者说the 21st century equivalent of being caught naked是什么意思。
A，人们的私人信息在不知不觉中被人很容易地了解。
B，在21世纪，人们尝试各种方式窥探别人的隐私。
C，在信息时代，人们倾向于彼此更加坦诚。
D，利用高级技术，犯罪分子可以很容易被当场抓住。
The 21st century equivalent of being caught naked这句话的字面意思是“相当于21世纪被人看到裸体”，结合上下文，可知是形容在21世纪个人信息很容易被人看到，隐私被人窥视，和过去被人看到裸体一样。A的说法与此一致。
B的说法和A有一定相似之处，不过B使用的主动语态，强调有人窥探别人隐私的行为本身，而原文是强调隐私“被”人看到，突出后果，B并不准确。C和文意相去甚远，而D是对be caught naked词组的错误理解。
63. C
题目问心理学家会对朋友之间的关系做出什么建议。
A，朋友应该向彼此敞开心怀。
B，朋友应该永远衷心于对方。
C，在朋友之间也应保持一定距离。
D，朋友之间少些争吵。
题目中的关键信息是“心理学家”和“朋友”，文中第三段开头就提到了心理学家和朋友、家庭、爱人等等，可以判断答案就在此处。心理学家的建议一共有两句话，分别由两个宾语从句引导。首先是boundaries are healthy，直译为界限是健康的。“界限”应该是指人与人之间关系的界限，等同于C所说的一定的距离。Healthy一词是对人与人之间保持一定距离的肯定。
其次是it’s important to reveal yourself to friends, family and lovers in stages, at appropriate times，这里表达了向朋友、家人、爱人开放自我的重要性，应该等同于A所说的向彼此敞开心怀，但要注意句尾的两个状语对“敞开心怀”的方式进行了限制。In stages等于bit by bit，意思是“分阶段地、一步一步地”，而at appropriate times指在合适的时候才向对方敞开心怀。整体观察第二个宾语从句，important实际上强调的是两个状语，也就是在in stages和at appropriate times的前提下向朋友敞开心扉是重要的，而不是敞开心扉本身。
由此看来，C的说法更为准确，而A并不是作者的本来意图。B和D在两个宾语从句中都没有提到，可以排除。
64. B
题目问为什么作者会说we live in a world where you simply cannot keep a secret。
A，现代社会已经最终发展成为开放社会。
B，人们在使用现代技术的时候会四处留下痕迹。
C，总会有人对别人的事情感兴趣。
D，许多搜索引擎靠泄露人们的身份而获利。
这是一道句子理解题，观察发现这句话是对前文的总结，具体地说，是对63题所考查的心理学家言论之后内容的总结。
第三段第一句话刚刚对朋友、爱人之间保持一定距离作出正面肯定，第二句话马上就提出了反驳，few boundaries remain——界限几乎已经不复存在。The digital bread crumbs you leave everywhere make it easy for strangers to reconstruct who you are, where you are and what you like，作者在这里使用了一个比喻，把数字化操作留下的记录比喻为数字面包屑。本句大意是数字化操作留下的记录可以让陌生人很容易地知道你是谁、你在哪里、你喜欢什么。此后的一句以搜索引擎为例进行了说明。
A的说法非常空泛，也很武断，第三段的内容仅仅是人们进行电脑等操作会泄露信息，把这种个别现象上升为社会变革显然不合适，也不是作者的意图。
B的说法符合文意，modern technology应该就是指文中的digital bread和Google。
C的说法来源于for strangers to reconstruct who you are这一句，这句话透露出的信息仅仅是陌生人获得个人隐私更加容易，至于是否总会有人对别人的事情感兴趣则没有提到。
D的说法照应文中有关Google的内容，但文中没有提到搜索引擎获利问题，可以排除D。
65. D
题目问对于隐私保护，大多数美国人是如何做的。
A，他们改变了可能会泄露他们身份的行为。
B，他们使用不同的忠诚卡(顾客积分卡)来做商业交易。
C，他们越来越依赖于电子设备。
D，他们只说不做。
文章中间部分有一个小段：For many Americans, the answer apparently is “no”，对于许多美国人来说，答案显然是不。这里指的是许多美国人并不在乎隐私被泄露。此后的两段对此进行了解释。
两段中的第一段讲的是美国人口头上的说法：most say they are concerned about losing it，多数人表示担忧隐私泄露。第二段则暴露了美国人的实际行动：Only a tiny fraction of Americans change any behaviors in an effort to preserve their privacy，只有一小部分美国人为保护隐私而改变了自己的行为。反过来说，大部分美国人并没有改变什么。这是典型的言行不一，正如这一点开头的一句话所说：people say one thing and do another——这正好和D的说法一致。
66. D
题目问根据这篇材料，隐私在什么地方与健康相似。
A，人们会想尽一切办法保护隐私。
B，其重要性很少被人理解。
C，它是种很容易失去的东西。
D，人们在失去它的时候才珍惜它。
题目中的关键信息是health，在文章末尾部分寻找health一词，发现它出现最后一段中，可以判断这最后一题考查的是文章末尾部分，而不是全篇内容。
But privacy does matter- at least sometimes. It’s like health; when you have it, you don’t notice it. Only when it’s gone do you wish you’d done more to protect it——直译为：“隐私是有关系的，至少是某些时候。它就像健康，在你拥有它时，你注意不到它。只有当它离你而去时你才想要是更注意地保护过它就好了。”这段话无论从句法结构还是词汇难度上都很容易，也没有出现体现独特英语思维的比喻等修辞，所以理解起来较为轻松，是一道送分题。D的说法完全切合最后一段的说法，是正确的。
页:
[1]