2008年12月大学英语四级考试模拟题(6)

　　Passage Two
　　Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.
　　Many people have been getting tattoos lately. People of all ages and from all different backgrounds have been getting them. On a nice day in just about any public place one can spot a tattoo about every five minutes, from the businessman who has a portrait of his daughter on his arm to the young girl with a butterfly on her ankle and even people with extensive tattoo coverage. What is even more interesting is the rise in the number of people who are heavily tattooed and that they come from all different backgrounds. Not too long ago tattooing did not experience the popularity in mainstream culture that it does now. The question that must be asked in order to understand this fascination that popular culture has with tattoos is: why do people get tattoos?
　　There is still a lot of intolerance towards people who have tattoos, especially towards people who have a lot of them, but these days a tattoo here and there is not looked down upon, as it once was. There was a time when only“low lives” were thought of as having tattoos and people who had them were dirty criminals and should not be associated with. Due to the mainstream of the world not accepting the culture of tattoos, many tattooists and their clients went underground. It was not always easy for people to even find a tattoo artist, even if they were brave enough to be labeled a “low life” by the majority of the society. A lot of places even banned tattooing due to the fact that they thought tattooing was morally wrong and a health risk. Tattooing was still illegal in New York City until 1993. The mystery that surrounds the art of tattooing has always bred ignorant ideas from people who are misinformed.
　　Society has changed, and quite rapidly. There is still a lingering sense of tradition that people hold on to, that tattoos are bad. As a whole, popular culture has embraced the art of tattooing; tattoos will never go away and they will always be part of our culture in the desire of mankind to control and express oneself.
　　26. The word “spot” (Para.1) probably means _______.
　　A) to put sth. in a small particular area or place
　　B) to see or notice
　　C) to be covered with small round marks of sth.
　　D) to find
　　27. What did people think of tattooing in the past?
　　A) People who had tattoos were admired by other people.
　　B) People thought only“low lives”，such as criminals, had tattoos.
　　C) Only brave people had tattoos.
　　D) The majority of people accepted tattoos.
　　28. Lots of places banned tattooing due to the fact that _____________.
　　A) they thought tattooing didn’t comply with social morality and was unhealthy
　　B) they thought tattoos looked ugly on the skin
　　C) they thought only dirty criminals had tattoos
　　D) they thought tattoos would prevent society from developing
　　29. What can we infer from the passage?
　　A) All people accept tattoos now.
　　B) Tattooing is still illegal now.
　　C) Tattoos will disappear eventually.
　　D) People haven’t accepted tattoos completely.
　　30. What’s the author’s advice on tattoos?
　　A) The practice of tattooing should be criticized.
　　B) Tattoos must be prohibited by our government.
　　C) We should remain neutral.
　　D) We should accept tattoos.