英语四级考试仔细阅读每日一练(12.25)

英语自学网

　　
        　　 Many a young person tells me he wants to be a writer. I always __1__ such people, but I also explain that there’sa big difference between "being a writer" and writing. In most cases these individuals are dreaming of __2__ and fame, notthe long hours alone at a typewriter. "You’ve got to want to write," I say to them, "not want to be a writer."The reality is that writing is a __3__, private and poor-paying affair. For every writer kissed by fortune there arethousands more whose longing is never __4__. When I left a 20-year career in the US. Coast Guard to become a freelancewriter(自由撰稿人), I had no __5__ at all. What I did have was a friend who found me my room in a New York apartment building. It didn’t even matter that it was __6__and had no bathroom. I immediately bought a used manual typewriter and feltlike a __7__ writer.After a year or so, however, I still hadn’t gotten a break and began to __8__ myself. It was so hard to sell a storythat __9__ made enough to eat. But I knew I wanted to write. I had dreamed about it for years. I wasn’t going to be one ofthose people who die wondering, what if? I would keeo putting my dream to the test----even though it meant living with __10__and fear of failure. This is the Shadow land of hope, and anyone with a dream learn to live there.
        　　A) barely
        　　B) genuine
        　　C) rewarded
        　　D) doubt
        　　E) lonely
        　　F) poverty
        　　G) persuade
        　　H) prospects
        　　I) uncertainty
        　　J)impossibly
        　　K) encourage
        　　L)awarded
        　　M) alone
        　　N)wealth
        　　O)cold
        　　【答案】
        　　1.选K)。 此处应填动词的原形。可选项有doubt, persuade, encourage, 但由always推知，作者是在鼓励那些想要成为作家的人，而不是怀疑也不是说服，故排除doubt和persuade而选encourage。
        　　2.选N)。由空格后的fame可知，此处应填名词。可选项有prospects和wealth，但由dreaming of 与第二段中The reality is... poor-paying可推知，那些想当作家的人梦想的是金钱和名誉，而不是前途，故排除prospects而选wealth。
        　　3.选E)。此处应填形容词，private, poor-paying一起修饰affair。选项中有lonely和alone,能修饰affair的只有lonely,alone表示“孤独的”时，通常作表语，故排除alone而选lonely。
        　　4.选C)。此处应填动词的被动形式。可选项有rewarded和awarded,前者可表示“(为所希望的举动得到的)回报”，后者作动词时表示“颁发，授予”，故只有rewarded符合题意而排除awarded。
        　　5.选H)。此处应填名词。“当我辞别了我在美国海岸警卫队20年工作成为一个自由撰稿人时，没有任何......可言”，可选项有prospects和wealth，但wealth一般指抽象意义上的“金钱”，因此排除wealth而选prospects“前途”。
        　　6.选O)。it指代的是apartment building，从had no bathroom可知这个公寓条件很差，选项中只有cold能说明公寓的条件差，故选择O)cold。
        　　7.选B)。“我马上买了一台旧的手动打字机，感觉自己就好像是一个......的作家”，由前面提到的to become a freelance writer可推知，此处作者是想成为一个真正的作家，故选项中只有genuine“真正的”符合题意。
        　　8.选D)。由空格前的to可知，此处应填动词的原形。可选项有doubt,persuade,encourage,但由still hadn’t gotten a break "在写作上还没有任何进展”，所以此处应理解为他开始怀疑自己的选择是否正确，故doubt符合文意。
        　　9.选A)。that从句结构完整，后面有made，故此处应填副词。可选项有barely和impossibly，因that引导的从句是对story的解释，再由hard一词可推知，此处应填的副词应表达肯定的意思，故排除impossibly而选barely“仅仅，刚刚”。
        　　10.选I)。由空格后的and可知，此处应填名词。由fear of failure可知，所填词应表示不好的境遇，可选项有poverty和uncertainty;又由fear可推知，此处强调的是生活的变化无常，而不是生活的贫困，故选uncertainty.
       
            
            

enfour

        　　What is it about Americans and food? We love to eat, but we feel 1 about it afterward. We say we want only the best, but we strangely enjoy junk food. We’re 2 with health and weight loss but face an unprecedented epidemic of obesity(肥胖). Perhaps the 3 to this ambivalence(矛盾情结) lies in our history. The first Europeans came to this continent searching for new spices but went in vain. The first cash crop(经济作物) wasn’t eaten but smoked. Then there was Prohibition, intended to prohibit drinking but actually encouraging more 4 ways of doing it.
        　　The immigrant experience, too, has been one of inharmony. Do as Romans do means eating what “real Americans” eat, but our nation’s food has come to be 5 by imports—pizza, say, or hot dogs. And some of the country’s most treasured cooking comes from people who arrived here in shackles.
        　　Perhaps it should come as no surprise then that food has been a medium for the nation’s defining struggles, whether at the Boston Tea Party or the sitins at southern lunch counters. It is integral to our concepts of health and even morality whether one refrains from alcohol for religious reasons or evades meat for political
        　　But strong opinions have not brought 7 . Americans are ambivalent about what they put in their mouths. We have become 8 of our foods, especially as we learn more about what they contain.
        　　The 9 in food is still prosperous in the American consciousness. It’s no coincidence, then, that the first Thanksgiving holds the American imagination in such bondage(束缚). It’s what we eat—and how we 10 it with friends, family, and strangers—that help define America as a community today.
        　　A. answer I. creative
        　　B. result J. belief
        　　C. share K. suspicious
        　　D. guilty L. certainty
        　　E. constant M. obsessed
        　　F. defined N. identify
        　　G. vanish O. ideals
        　　H. adapted
        　　【答案及详解】
        　　1. D feel是一个系动词，可以判断此处应填入一个形容词，通过上下文意思，以及后面介词about, 可以确定选项为D项guilty, 短语feel guilty about sth. “对……感到有愧”。全句的意思为“我们很爱吃，但是往往在吃完之后又有负罪感”。
        　　2.M be obsessed with 为固定搭配，原意为“被……附上/缠住/迷住心窍”，放在本句表示“十分重视”。全句的意思为“我们很关心健康和减肥，但肥胖却又空前地在蔓延”。
        　　3. A 本句缺一个名词作主语，并且根据和介词to的搭配，可以推断出正确选项answer.
        　　4. I本句根据more和ways可以判断出需要填入一个形容词构成比较级，根据上下文，表示“旨在禁止酗酒的禁酒令，却激发了更多新奇的方法来酗酒”，可以确定I为正确选项。
        　　5. F 本题较难。根据be 和by 确定应填入一个过去分词。再根据上下文，上文表示“应该吃典型的美国人吃的食物”，下文通过 but 转折，表示实际上“美国的食物已经被诸如比萨和热狗这样的舶来品所诠释了”，因此可以确定F为正确选项。
        　　6.B政治结果，可根据宗教原因religious reasons来推断此处填政治结果。
        　　7. L由于横线后面没有宾语，可以确定不是形成bring的短语，这样本句所缺的为一名词，做bring的宾语。根据下文解释，“美国人对他们所吃的食物的态度是矛盾的”，可以推出本句意义为“坚定的观点也不是确定不变的”。因此可以确定L为正确选项。
        　　8. K系动词become后应填入一个形容词，和后面介词of形成短语be/become suspicious of “对……感到怀疑”。
        　　9. J本句缺一个名词作主语，并且根据和介词in的搭配，可以推断出正确选项belief，(have)belief in sth.“ 相信……”。
        　　10. C本句是一般现在时，缺一个动词，且和with 搭配，确定选项为share, share sth. with sb., “与某人分享某事”。
            
            

enone

        　　What is it about Americans and food? We love to eat, but we feel 1 about it afterward. We say we want only the best, but we strangely enjoy junk food. We’re 2 with health and weight loss but face an unprecedented epidemic of obesity(肥胖). Perhaps the 3 to this ambivalence(矛盾情结) lies in our history. The first Europeans came to this continent searching for new spices but went in vain. The first cash crop(经济作物) wasn’t eaten but smoked. Then there was Prohibition, intended to prohibit drinking but actually encouraging more 4 ways of doing it.
        　　The immigrant experience, too, has been one of inharmony. Do as Romans do means eating what “real Americans” eat, but our nation’s food has come to be 5 by imports—pizza, say, or hot dogs. And some of the country’s most treasured cooking comes from people who arrived here in shackles.
        　　Perhaps it should come as no surprise then that food has been a medium for the nation’s defining struggles, whether at the Boston Tea Party or the sitins at southern lunch counters. It is integral to our concepts of health and even morality whether one refrains from alcohol for religious reasons or evades meat for political.
        　　But strong opinions have not brought 7 . Americans are ambivalent about what they put in their mouths. We have become 8 of our foods, especially as we learn more about what they contain.
        　　The 9 in food is still prosperous in the American consciousness. It’s no coincidence, then, that the first Thanksgiving holds the American imagination in such bondage(束缚). It’s what we eat—and how we 10 it with friends, family, and strangers—that help define America as a community today.
        　　A. answer I. creative
        　　B. result J. belief
        　　C. share K. suspicious
        　　D. guilty L. certainty
        　　E. constant M. obsessed
        　　F. defined N. identify
        　　G. vanish O. ideals
        　　H. adapted
        　　【答案及详解】
        　　1. D feel是一个系动词，可以判断此处应填入一个形容词，通过上下文意思，以及后面介词about, 可以确定选项为D项guilty, 短语feel guilty about sth. “对……感到有愧”。全句的意思为“我们很爱吃，但是往往在吃完之后又有负罪感”。
        　　2. M be obsessed with 为固定搭配，原意为“被……附上/缠住/迷住心窍”，放在本句表示“十分重视”。全句的意思为“我们很关心健康和减肥，但肥胖却又空前地在蔓延”。
        　　3. A 本句缺一个名词作主语，并且根据和介词to的搭配，可以推断出正确选项answer.
        　　4. I本句根据more和ways可以判断出需要填入一个形容词构成比较级，根据上下文，表示“旨在禁止酗酒的禁酒令，却激发了更多新奇的方法来酗酒”，可以确定I为正确选项。
        　　5. F 本题较难。根据be 和by 确定应填入一个过去分词。再根据上下文，上文表示“应该吃典型的美国人吃的食物”，下文通过 but 转折，表示实际上“美国的食物已经被诸如比萨和热狗这样的舶来品所诠释了”，因此可以确定F为正确选项。
        　　6. B政治结果，可根据宗教原因religious reasons来推断此处填政治结果。
        　　7. L由于横线后面没有宾语，可以确定不是形成bring的短语，这样本句所缺的为一名词，做bring的宾语。根据下文解释，“美国人对他们所吃的食物的态度是矛盾的”，可以推出本句意义为“坚定的观点也不是确定不变的”。因此可以确定L为正确选项。
            
            

enfour

        　　Americans are proud of their variety and individualty, yet they love and respect few things more than a uniform. Why are uniforms so __1__ in the United States?
        　　Among the arguments for uniforms, one of the first is that in the eyes of most people they look more __2__ than civilian(百姓的) clothes. People have become conditioned to __3__ superior quality from a man who wears a uniform. The television repairman who wears a uniform tends to __4__ more trust than one who appears in civilian clothes. Faith in the __5__ of a garage mechanic is increased by a uniform. What an easier way is there for a nurse, a policeman, a barber, or a waiter to __6__ professional identity(身份) than to step out of uniform? Uniforms also have many __7__ benefits. They save on other clothes. They save on laundry bills. They are often more comfortable and more durable than civilian clothes.
        　　Primary among the arguments against uniforms is their lack of variety and the consequent loss of __8__ experienced by people who must wear them. Though there are many types of uniforms, the wearer of any particular type is generally stuck with it, without __9__, until retirement. When people look alike, they tend to think, speak, and act __10__, on the job at least.
        　　[A]skill
        　　[B]popular
        　　[C]get
        　　[D]change
        　　[E]similarly
        　　[F]professional
        　　[G]character
        　　[H]individuality
        　　[I]inspire
        　　[J]differently
        　　[K]expect
        　　[L]practical
        　　[M]recall
        　　[N]lose
        　　[O]ordinary
        　　ANSWERS:
        　　1.选B)。从文章的第一句they love and respect few thins more than a uniform“他们又无比热爱和崇尚制服”，说明了制服在美国很受欢迎。因此选项B)popular符合原文意思。选项中的professional“职业的”、practical“实用的”和ordinary“普通的，平常的”都不符合第一段的意思。
        　　2.选F)。此处应填形容词。从more...than civilian clothes可知，此处要填的形容词意思与civilian相对，说明制服的特点。选项中的形容词中只有professional“职业的”和civilian相对的，故F)正确。而pratical“实用的”和ordinary“平常的”意思都不能和civilian对应，故排除。
        　　3.选K)。由be conditioned to do sth.“习惯于”可知，此处应填动词原形。从前面的look more“看起来更...”和后面的tend to“倾向于”可知，这段要说明的是人们的主观印象，应填入表示“期望(得到)”的单词，只有K)expect符合原文语气。选项中get“得到”与上下文的语气不符合。
        　　4.选I)。此处应填动词原形。从原文中“人们习惯...从穿制服的人那儿得到优质服务。”可知，人们更信任穿制服的人，即制服能使人产生信任感。选项中的动词原形中只有inspire“使产生”符合文章。
        　　5.选A)。此处应填名词。前面两句表达了人们对穿制服的人更加信任的意思，那么对于garage mechanic“汽车修理工”来说，人们信任的是它的技术，而不是人品，故选项中只有A)skill符合原文意思。
        　　6.选N)。此处应填动词。...step out of uniform“脱掉制服”是对护士、警察等来说是......职业身份的很简单的方式。脱下制服就是失去了职业身份，由此可以推知此处应填N)lose。
        　　7.选L)。此处应填形容词，说明制服的其他有点。从下文“...节省购买其他衣服的开销，节省洗衣费用，比便服更舒适也更耐穿”可知，制服除了增加信任感还有实际的优点。选项中的pratical“实用的”和ordinary“平常的”，很明显L)pratical符合原文意思。
        　　8.选H)。此处应填名词。文章手段就说“美国人为自己的多元化和个性化感到高傲无比，然而他们又无比热爱和崇尚制服”，其中包含制服使他们失去自己的个性的意思，那么联系第一段，此处指出的制服的缺点即为失去个性，故选项H)individuality正确。individuality强调与他人特点的区别，而character指的是个人特定的内在本质。
        　　9.选D)。此处应填名词。前面说制服让人失去了个性，虽然有很多种制服，但穿上制服的人直至退休都是那件制服，所有是没有变化的，故此处应填change，故D)正确。
        　　10.选E)。此处应填副词，修饰动词act。前面指出...look alike,they tend to...，说明此处填的词和alike意思相近。选项种副词有similarly和differently，很明显，E)similarly与alike意思相近，故选E)。
            
            

enfive

        　　 What is it about Americans and food? We love to eat, but we feel 1 about it afterward. We say we want only the best, but we strangely enjoy junk food. We’re 2 with health and weight loss but face an unprecedented epidemic of obesity(肥胖). Perhaps the 3 to this ambivalence(矛盾情结) lies in our history. The first Europeans came to this continent searching for new spices but went in vain. The first cash crop(经济作物) wasn’t eaten but smoked. Then there was Prohibition, intended to prohibit drinking but actually encouraging more 4 ways of doing it.
        　　The immigrant experience, too, has been one of inharmony. Do as Romans do means eating what “real Americans” eat, but our nation’s food has come to be 5 by imports—pizza, say, or hot dogs. And some of the country’s most treasured cooking comes from people who arrived here in shackles.
        　　Perhaps it should come as no surprise then that food has been a medium for the nation’s defining struggles, whether at the Boston Tea Party or the sitins at southern lunch counters. It is integral to our concepts of health and even morality whether one refrains from alcohol for religious reasons or evades meat for political.
        　　But strong opinions have not brought 7 . Americans are ambivalent about what they put in their mouths. We have become 8 of our foods, especially as we learn more about what they contain.
        　　The 9 in food is still prosperous in the American consciousness. It’s no coincidence, then, that the first Thanksgiving holds the American imagination in such bondage(束缚). It’s what we eat—and how we 10 it with friends, family, and strangers—that help define America as a community today.
        　　A. answer I. creative
        　　B. result J. belief
        　　C. share K. suspicious
        　　D. guilty L. certainty
        　　E. constant M. obsessed
        　　F. defined N. identify
        　　G. vanish O. ideals
        　　H. adapted
        　　【答案及详解】
        　　1. D feel是一个系动词，可以判断此处应填入一个形容词，通过上下文意思，以及后面介词about, 可以确定选项为D项guilty, 短语feel guilty about sth. “对……感到有愧”。全句的意思为“我们很爱吃，但是往往在吃完之后又有负罪感”。
        　　2. M be obsessed with 为固定搭配，原意为“被……附上/缠住/迷住心窍”，放在本句表示“十分重视”。全句的意思为“我们很关心健康和减肥，但肥胖却又空前地在蔓延”。
        　　3. A 本句缺一个名词作主语，并且根据和介词to的搭配，可以推断出正确选项answer.
        　　4. I本句根据more和ways可以判断出需要填入一个形容词构成比较级，根据上下文，表示“旨在禁止酗酒的禁酒令，却激发了更多新奇的方法来酗酒”，可以确定I为正确选项。
        　　5. F 本题较难。根据be 和by 确定应填入一个过去分词。再根据上下文，上文表示“应该吃典型的美国人吃的食物”，下文通过 but 转折，表示实际上“美国的食物已经被诸如比萨和热狗这样的舶来品所诠释了”，因此可以确定F为正确选项。
        　　6. B政治结果，可根据宗教原因religious reasons来推断此处填政治结果。
        　　7. L由于横线后面没有宾语，可以确定不是形成bring的短语，这样本句所缺的为一名词，做bring的宾语。根据下文解释，“美国人对他们所吃的食物的态度是矛盾的”，可以推出本句意义为“坚定的观点也不是确定不变的”。因此可以确定L为正确选项。
        　　8. K系动词become后应填入一个形容词，和后面介词of形成短语be/become suspicious of “对……感到怀疑”。
        　　9. J本句缺一个名词作主语，并且根据和介词in的搭配，可以推断出正确选项belief，(have)belief in sth.“ 相信……”。
        　　10. C本句是一般现在时，缺一个动词，且和with 搭配，确定选项为share, share sth. with sb., “与某人分享某事”。