2006年12月四级阅读真题全解析

英语自学网

　　Passage One
　　Questions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.
　　Reaching new peaks of popularity in North America is Iceberg Water, which is harvested from icebergs off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.
　　Arthur von Wiesenberger, who carries the title Water Master, is one of the few water critics in North America. As a boy, he spent time in the larger cities of Italy, France and Switzerland, where bottled water is consumed daily. Even then, he kept a water journal, noting the brands he liked best. “My dog could tell the difference between bottled and tap water,” He says.
　　But is plain tap water all that bad? Not at all. In fact, New York’s municipal water for more than a century was called the champagne of tap water and until recently considered among the best in the world in terms of both taste and purity. Similarly, a magazine in England found that tap water from the Thames River tasted better than several leading brands of bottled water that were 400 times more expensive.
　　Nevertheless, soft-drink companies view bottled water as the next battle-ground for market share—this despite the fact that over 25 percent of bottled water comes from tap water: PepsiCo’s Aquafina and Coca-Cola’s Dasani are both purified tap water rather than spring water.
　　As diners thirst for leading brands, bottlers and restaurateurs salivate (垂涎) over the profits. A restaurant’s typical mark-up on wine is 100 to 150 percent, whereas on bottled water it’s often 300 to 500 percent. But since water is much cheaper than wine, and many of the fancier brands aren’t available in stores, most diners don’t notice or care.
　　As a result, some restaurants are turning up the pressure to sell bottled water. According to an article in The Street Journal, some of the more shameless tactics include placing attractive bottles on the table for a visual sell, listing brands on the menu without prices, and pouring bottled water without even asking the diners if they want it.
　　Regardless of how it’s sold, the popularity of bottled water taps into our desire for better health, our wish to appear cultivated, and even a longing for lost purity.
　　注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
　　57. What do we know about Iceberg Water from the passage?
　　A) It is a kind of iced water.
　　B) It is just plain tap water.
　　C) It is a kind of bottled water.
　　D) It is a kind of mineral water.(C)
　　58. By saying “My dog could tell the difference between bottled and tap water” (Line 4 Para. 2), von Wiesenberger wants to convey the message that ________.
　　A) plain tap water is certainly unfit for drinking
　　B) bottled water is clearly superior to tap water
　　C) bottled water often appeals more to dogs taste
　　D) dogs can usually detect a fine difference in taste(B)
　　59. The “fancier brands” (Line 3 Para. 5) refers to ________.
　　A) tap water from the Thames River
　　B) famous wines not sold in ordinary stores
　　C) PepsiCo’s Aquafina and Coca-Cola’s Dasani
　　D) expensive bottled water with impressive names(D)
　　60. Why are some restaurants turning up the pressure to sell bottled water?
　　A) Bottled water brings in huge profits.
　　B) Competition from the wine industry is intense.
　　C) Most diners find bottled water affordable.
　　D) Bottled water satisfied diners’ desire to fashionable.(A)
　　61. According to passage, why is bottled water so popular?
　　A) It is much cheaper than wine.
　　B) It is considered healthier.
　　C) It appeals to more cultivated people.
　　D) It is more widely promoted in the market.(B)
　　这篇文章分析了瓶装水在北美十分流行的原因。
　　文章开篇引题，以Iceberg Water为例，说明了瓶装水在北美的火热流行程度，为后文分析其流行的原因做好铺垫。第一段只有一句话，作者把reach谓语提前，使用倒装结构对Iceberg Water达到流行顶点这一事实进行强调，这样Iceberg Water置于句末，借以使用非限制性定语从句对这种瓶装水的来源进行描述。
　　第二段马上指出了瓶装水流行的原因，但这是借一位瓶装水专家之口来指出媒体普遍的观点：my dog could tell the difference between bottled and tap water，含义是瓶装水明显优于自来水。
　　第二段的作用无疑是竖靶子以备批驳，第三段紧接着对这种观点进行了分析，并用源自泰晤士河的自来水比几种名牌瓶装水口感更佳为例进行了反驳。
　　在接下来的四段中，作者具体分析了瓶装水流行的真正原因。第四段有承上启下的作用，把百事和可口可乐公司作为例子，既以两家公司的瓶装水25%来源于自来水的事实继续反驳瓶装水优于自来水的观点，又以两家公司对瓶装水市场的重视引出瓶装水流行的真正原因。
　　第五、六段论证了售卖方式是瓶装水流行原因之一的观点，最后一段指出除售卖方式之外的其他原因(our desire for better health, our wish to appear cultivated, and even a longing for lost purity)。
　　57. C
　　本题问从文章可知Iceberg Water指的是什么。
　　文章在开头即提到了Iceberg Water，讲到它在北美的人气达到了新的高度，其源头是取自取自加拿大纽芬兰的冰川。从全篇来看，本文以瓶装水为论述的核心，说明其在当今社会的火爆程度，这与开头所述Iceberg Water人气达到新高的叙述意义一致。而在提到Iceberg Water之后的第二段，文章紧接着介绍了一位瓶装水专业人士对瓶装水流行原因的看法。由此来看，Iceberg Water很可能是一种瓶装水，文章以它来开头有引出论题的作用。
　　A说是一种冰水，B说是一种普通自来水，C说是一种瓶装水，D说是一种矿物质水。
　　C是正确答案。
　　58. B
　　这句话的意义必须结合上下文来理解。这句话出现在第二段，这一段的意思是：
　　Wiesenberger享有饮用水大师的称号，且是北美不多的几位饮用水评论家之一。他小时候曾居住在意大利、法国和瑞士较大的城市中，在这些地方，人们每天都要消费瓶装水。他在那时就订了一份饮用水杂志，留心记下他最喜爱的瓶装水牌子。“我的狗都能分出瓶装水跟自来水的区别。”他说道。
　　从这段描述中可以看出，这位饮用水大师自小就对瓶装水兴趣浓厚，甚至为了追踪最喜爱的牌子特意保有一份水杂志。作者的这些叙述显然传达了一个信息：瓶装水可 谓是此人的至爱。那么在这种隐含意义下，他所说的瓶装水与自来水的区别决不真正是二者的实在区别，而是要突出瓶装水要优于自来水;连狗都能分辨这种区别， 这是一种夸张说法，意在表明二者的差距之大。
　　A，自来水当然不适合饮用。从全文给出的信息来看，自来水是适合引用的，句意本身错误，同时也不符合该句的真实含义。
　　B，瓶装水显而易见地要优于自来水。此说法与前面的分析一致，是正确的。
　　C，瓶装水常常更符合狗的口味。Wiesenberger提到狗只是为了起到夸张的效果，并不是瓶装水真的更符合狗的口味。
　　D，狗一般能靠味觉发现细微的差别。此项犯的错误与C一样。
　　59. D
　　题目问fancier brands指的是什么。
　　Fancier应该是fancy的比较级，fancy有“别致、价格高昂的”的意思，brands指品牌。理解它具体的含义还是要看上下文。
　　这个词组出现在A restaurant’s typical mark-up on wine is 100 to 150 percent, whereas on bottled water it’s often 300 to 500 percent. But since water is much cheaper than wine, and many of the fancier brands aren’t available in stores, most diners don’t notice or care一句中，意思是：饭店一般把酒价标高100%到150%，而瓶装水常常会达到300%到500%。不过水要比酒便宜得多，同时许多fancier brands在商店里买不到，因此用餐者就没有注意或者并不在乎。
　　从最后一句结论可以推测，fancier brands很有可能是更贵的水品牌，因为如果这些奢侈牌子在商店里买不到，人们就无从知道它的合理价格，即便到了饭店以高价挨宰(标高500%)，他们也并不知情，也就注意不到或不会在乎。只有这样逻辑才能通顺。四个选项分别是：
　　A，源自泰晤士河的自来水
　　B，不在普通商店中出售的名牌葡萄酒。
　　C，百事的Aquafina和可口可乐的Dasani。
　　D，拥有别致名字的昂贵瓶装水。
　　四个选项中D符合上文的分析。
　　60. A
　　首先了解turn up the pressure的意思，turn up有“提高”的意思，如turn up the radio，提高收音机的音量。turn up the pressure就是加大压力、加大力度的意思。这样题意就是“一些饭店加大力度售卖瓶装水的原因是什么”。
　　文中有As a result, some restaurants are turning up the pressure to sell bottled water一句，as a result是“所以、因此”的意思，说明前文已经说明了加大力度的原因，答案需要到前一段去找。
　　上一段首先提到饭店对销售品牌瓶装水的利润垂涎三尺(restaurateurs salivate over the profits)，而后具体说明了其之所以能实现超额利润的原因：消费者对瓶装水合理价格水平一无所知。由此可以推断，饭店大力售卖瓶装水的原因就应该是高额利润的诱使。
　　A，瓶装水可以带来巨额利润。符合上面的分析。
　　B，来自酒业的竞争十分激烈。文中提到酒业(typical mark-up on wine is 100 to 150 percent)只是为了突出瓶装水的利润丰厚，没有提到二者存在竞争问题。
　　C，大多数就餐者认为瓶装水的价格可以接受。文中提到就餐者对价格的反应时是这样叙述的：most diners don’t notice or care，意思是他们不知道瓶装水的真实价格，因此没有注意或不在乎。但饭店老板不会因为自己商品的价格可以被消费者接受而热衷于售卖，这个价格中含有暴利才是原因。
　　D，瓶装水满足了就餐者喜欢时尚的需求。文章最后一段解释了瓶装水流行的其他原因，其中有它满足了our wish to appear cultivated，与D的说法稍有接近，但这是从消费者的角度进行的分析，不是饭店老板热衷于售卖瓶装水的原因。
　　61. B
　　题目问根据文意瓶装水为什么如此流行。
　　文章的最后一段对此做出了说明，直译如下：
　　不算其销售方式，饮用瓶装水能够满足我们对健康的更高追求，满足对更有教养的形象的追求，甚至对水的纯净度的追求。
　　从这段话可以看出，销售方式(how it’s sold，即第五六、段的分析)是瓶装水流行的一个因素，此外就是文末的三种因素：更高健康、更好形象和纯净度。
　　A认为原因是瓶装水比酒便宜。这是第五段的内容：water is much cheaper than wine，不过这里提到水更便宜是为了解释人们为何没有注意到瓶装水价格的虚高。
　　B认为原因是人们认为它更为健康，符合另三种因素的第一个：更高健康。
　　C认为原因是它能吸引更有教养的人。文中所说的对更有教养的形象的追求(our wish to appear cultivated)，是指一个人企望比以前的自己显得更有教养，而不是瓶装水对更有教养的人群的吸引力比对一般教养的人吸引力更大。
　　D认为原因是它在市场中得到了更大的推广。瓶装水得到了更大的推广，其意思等同于瓶装水流行，一个句子不能用它本身来解释本身。
        
         
         

ensix

　　Passage Two
　　As we have seen, the focus of medical care in our society has been shifting from curing disease to preventing disease—especially in terms of changing our many unhealthy behaviors, such as poor eating habits, smoking, and failure to exercise. The line of thought involved in this shift can be pursued further. Imagine a person who is about the right weight, but does not eat very nutritious (有营养的) foods, who feels OK but exercises only occasionally, who goes to work every day, but is not an outstanding worker, who drinks a few beers at home most nights but does not drive while drunk, and who has no chest pains or abnormal blood counts, but sleeps a lot and often feels tired. This person is not ill. He may not even be at risk for any particular disease. But we can imagine that this person could be a lot healthier.
　　The field of medicine has not traditionally distinguished between someone who is merely “not ill” and someone who is in excellent health and pays attention to the body’s special needs. Both types have simply been called “well.” In recent years, however, some health specialists have begun to apply the terms “well” and “wellness” only to those who are actively striving to maintain and improve their health. People who are well are concerned with nutrition and exercise, and they make a point of monitoring their body’s condition. Most important, perhaps, people who are well take active responsibility for all matters related to their health. Even people who have a physical disease or handicap (缺陷) may be “well,” in this new sense, if they make an effort to maintain the best possible health they can in the face of their physical limitations. “Wellness” may perhaps best be viewed not as a state that people can achieve, but as an ideal that people can strive for. People who are well are likely to be better able to resist disease and to fight disease when it strikes. And by focusing attention on healthy ways of living, the concept of wellness can have a beneficial impact on the ways in which people face the challenges of daily life.
　　62. Today medical care is placing more stress on ________.
　　A) keeping people in a healthy physical condition
　　B) monitoring patients’ body functions
　　C) removing people’s bad living habits
　　D) ensuring people’s psychological well-being(C)
　　63. In the first paragraph, people are reminded that ________.
　　A) good health is more than not being ill
　　B) drinking, even if not to excess, could be harmful
　　C) regular health checks are essential to keeping fit
　　D) prevention is more difficult than cure(B)
　　64. Traditionally, a person is considered “well” if he ________.
　　A) does not have any unhealthy living habits
　　B) does not have any physical handicaps
　　C) is able to handle his daily routines
　　D) is free from any kind of disease(D)
　　65. According to the author, the true meaning of “wellness” is for people ________.
　　A) to best satisfy their body’s special needs
　　B) to strive to maintain the best possible health
　　C) to meet the strictest standards of bodily health
　　D) to keep a proper balance between work and leisure(B)
　　66. According to what the author advocates, which of the following groups of people would be considered healthy?
　　A) People who have strong muscles as well as slim figures.
　　B) People who are not presently experiencing any symptoms of disease.
　　C) People who try to be as possible, regardless of their limitations.
　　D) People who can recover from illness even without seeking medical care.(C)
　　这 篇文章讲述了当今社会“健康”概念的新发展。全文比较少见地一共只有两大段(很有可能是英文原版文章的节选)，第一段开头介绍了当今社会人们医疗观念的转 变，即人们关注的焦点正在从治疗转变为预防。这一现象是众所周知的，作者可以借此不动声色地引出了文章的论题——健康观念的转变问题。在此之后，作者立即 把笔锋指向正题，提出这种观念上的转变其实还可以探究得更为深入(The line of thought involved in this shift can be pursued further)。在第一段的其余部分，作者使用了一系列does……but句型，对一种健康状态进行了具体的描述，最后指出这种程度上的“健康”其实还有改善的余地(could be a lot healthier)。
　　第一段完成了对一种健康但又不够健康的状态的具体描述，第二段开头则指出传统观念未对not ill(不得病)和excellent health(身体极佳)进行区分，都称为健康(well)，那么读到这里，显然可以判断第一段描述的是not ill这一概念。
　　此后作者提出一种观点，即只有那些积极努力保持和改善健康状态的人(who are actively striving to maintain and improve their health)才可称是“健康的”(well)或达到了“健康状态”(wellness)。之后作者分别对well和wellness作了具体的解释。
　　62. C
　　题目问当今的医疗正更为注重什么。这道题较为简单。文章开头说道：the focus of medical care in our society has been shifting from curing disease to preventing disease—especially in terms of changing our many unhealthy behaviors，意思是社会的医疗焦点正从治病变为防病，尤其是在改变人们不健康的行为方面。Shifting是转变的意思，使用了进行时态，与题目中的placing一样，说明这种转变正在发生之中。而题目中的more一词可以体现出“转变”的含义。
　　四个题支的意思是：
　　A，使人们的身体状况保持健康状态。
　　B，跟踪监控病人的身体机能。
　　C，祛除人们坏的生活习惯。
　　D，保证人们的心理健康。
　　A和D分别讲的生理健康和心理健康，在文中没有提到过心理健康问题，可以排除D，而A所说的“保持健康状态”较为空泛，可以把第一段提到的治病(curing disease)和防病(preventing disease)都包括进去，但文中的转变恰恰是治病与防病之间的转变，这个意思在A中无法体现出来。
　　B专指病人(patients)，讲的是医生对病人的治疗问题，而全篇文章中心思想是无病的人如何才算得到真正的健康，与病人的治疗无关。
　　C讲的是祛除坏习惯，与changing our many unhealthy behaviors意思接近，unhealthy behviors在很大程度上可以是不健康的生活习惯。
　　63. A
　　题目问在第一段中，人们受到何种教导。
　　A，好健康不仅仅是没有得病。第一段在上半部分指出在医疗焦点的转变问题上，可以讨论得更为深入一点(can be pursued further)，而后以类似于汉语里的排比句的形式列举了某种健康状态的具体表现，最后以This person is not ill(无病)、this person could be a lot healthier(可以更健康)结尾，作者的意图非常好明显，好健康远不止是不得病。A的说法正确。
　　B，饮酒，即便不过量，也是对身体有害的。文中关于饮酒的叙述是这样的：who drinks a few beers at home most nights but does not drive while drunk，意思是这个人多数夜晚都在家里喝些啤酒，但从不酒后驾车，a few beers可以看做是没有过量的喝酒，否则就会用a lot of。第一段结尾对这个人的评价是This person is not ill，意即不算十分健康，但也不会得病。这句话说明作者没有把适度喝酒看做是不健康的行为，因此B的说法不对。
　　C，定期进行身体检查对保持健康是必要的。第一段中没有出现身体检查的内容。
　　D，预防比治疗更加困难。文章提到预防与治疗是说人们在医疗上的关注点从治疗转变到了预防(from curing disease to preventing disease)，没有说哪一个更为困难。
　　64. D
　　题目问传统上讲，一个人在何种情况下会被视为“健康的”(well)。可以看到第二段在开头提到了传统健康观点：The field of medicine has not traditionally distinguished between someone who is merely “not ill” and someone who is in excellent health and pays attention to the body’s special needs. Both types have simply been called “well.”。这个句子的主语是医学界(The field of medicine)，谓语是“未作区分”，而后使用了一个between……and句型，引出未作区分的二个对象，第二个and之后的pays其主语依然是医学界，因为它使用了第三人称单数形式，和前面的has一致。副词traditionally限定了这段描述的对象是传统医疗观点。这句话的意思是传统医学界未对仅仅“没有得病”和“十分健康”做出区分，而把注意力放在了身体的特殊需求上。这二种情况都被称作了健康。
　　四个选项是：
　　A，没有任何有害健康的生活习惯。根据文意，这应该是健康新观点的倡导之一。
　　B，没有任何生理缺陷。第二段解释“well”观点时提到了handicap，原意是说一个人只要努力追求健康，即使具有生理缺陷也可以是well。这里讲的健康新观点。B的说法错误。
　　C，能够处理好日常事务。文章最后一句话提到了daily life，讲到wellness会对daily life产生积极的影响，但这里的wellness同样属于新观点。
　　D，没有任何疾病。根据上面的分析，传统医学界没有就“没有得病”和“十分健康”做出区分，即二者完全相等，健康就是没有疾病。D的说法正确。
　　65. B
　　题目问根据作者的说法，wellness的真实含义是指人们要如何如何。第二段中间部分提到了某些健康专家的健康新观点，而后对well和wellness分别进行了解释。对wellness是这样解释的：“Wellness” may perhaps best be viewed not as a state that people can achieve, but as an ideal that people can strive for. People who are well are likely to be better able to resist disease and to fight disease when it strikes. And by focusing attention on healthy ways of living, the concept of wellness can have a beneficial impact on the ways in which people face the challenges of daily life。这段话较易理解，大意为：最好不要把wellness看做是一种人们能够达到的状态，而应该是一种努力追求的理想。健康的人更能够抵御疾病侵袭，或在染病时能更好地与疾病抗争。Wellness的观念让人们把注意力集中在健康的生活方式上，在人们面对日常生活的挑战时，wellness的观念可以施加有益的影响。
　　A，最好地满足身体的特殊需求。第二段开头说到满足身体特殊需求(and pays attention to the body’s special needs)是传统医学界的观点，而不是新观点。
　　B，努力保持可能的最佳的健康状态。文中把wellness定义为an ideal that people can strive for，strive for是“努力达到”的意思，与B的表述一致。Ideal是理想状况，可以理解为一种可能达到的最佳状况。B的说法正确。
　　C，满足身体健康的最为苛刻的标准。文章提到了wellness是一种理想，暗含不容易达到的意思，但理想而不易达到的不见得就是最苛刻的。同时文中也没有提出任何“标准”。
　　D，在工作和休闲之间保持良好的平衡。某权威机构给出的答案即是D，应该是从文章最后一句话做出的判断。这句话意思是“Wellness的观念让人们把注意力集中在健康的生活方式上，在人们面对日常生活的挑战时，wellness的观念可以施加有益的影响”。也就是说，如果人们接受了wellness这 种观念，就会更注重健康的生活方式，从而有利于人们应对日常生活的挑战。先看前半句，注重健康的生活方式，可以是不抽烟不喝酒，这与工作和休闲的关系无 关。再看后半句，日常生活的挑战有可能是工作中的难题，而通过适当的休闲来更有效的应对这些难题的确是可能的。但是，日常生活的挑战也可以不是工作，同 时，休闲也不见得就代表了wellness。从哪个方面讲，D的表述都无法说通。
　　66. C
　　题目问根据作者的主张，下列哪一种人将被视为是健康的。
　　A，肌肉发达同时身材苗条。肌肉发达同时又能保持苗条身材，很难想象这是一种什么样的人。至少文中对此未作任何描述。
　　B， 当前没有任何疾病症状的人。没有疾病即not ill，在第一段中已经not ill的状况做了详细的描述，这是传统医学界的观点，而在文章中作者倡导的一定是关于健康的新观点。
　　C，尽全力追求健康的人，不论其自身有何局限。第二段中间部分曾讲到有缺陷的人也可以是健康的：Even people who have a physical disease or handicap may be “well”，条件是they make an effort to maintain the best possible health they can in the face of their physical limitations，即便面对身体局限，也要尽可能地保持最佳健康状况。这一句话正好与C的表述意思一致。
　　D，无须求助于医疗就能从疾病中恢复的人。文章末尾部分在具体解释wellness时举的例子包括与D的说法类似的内容：People who are well are likely to be better able to resist disease and to fight disease when it strikes，意思是健康的人更能抵抗疾病侵袭(抗病力强，不易得病)，得病后能更好地对抗疾病。后半句与D所说的内容有关，与前文联系起来看就是People who are well are likely to be better able to fight disease when it strikes(likely是“很可能”的意思。and后面的to一定是连接able，如果连接likely，意思就是“很可能会去对抗疾病”，意思上讲不通)，这里仅仅是说可能会更好地与疾病抗争，没有说不求助于医疗就能恢复。从likely(可能的)和better(更好的)这些词的使用来看，作者所指的健康的人应该不是无须医疗而自愈的铁人。