2012年6月英语四级考前10天冲刺试卷及答案(10)

 　　Part IV Reading Comprehension (Reading in Depth) (25 minutes)
　　Section A
　　Directions: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making your choices. Each
　　choice in bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the center. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.
　　Questions 47 to 56 are based on the following passage.
　　 Those baby-faced people now have another reason to be smug (自鸣得意的 ): a new Danish study says looking young 47 means a longer life. Research suggests that people who look younger than their years also live longer.
　　 In 2001, Danish researchers 48 physical and cognitive tests on more than 1,800 pairs of twins over aged 70, as well as taking photos of their faces. Three groups of people who didn’t know the twins’ real ages guessed how old they were. The researchers then 49 how long the twins 50 over 7 years.
　　The experts found that people who looked younger than their 51 age were far more likely to survive, even after they 52 for other factors like gender and environment. The bigger the difference in 53 age within any twin pair, the more likely it was that the older-looking twin died first.
　　They also found a possible biological 54 _: people who looked younger also tended to have longer telomeres (端粒), a key DNA. 55 that is linked to aging. People with shorter telomeres are thought to age faster. In the Danish study, the more fresh-faced people had longer telomeres.
　　The authors said that perceived age, which is widely used by doctors as a general 56 of a patient’s health, is a good biomarker of aging that predicts survival among people over age 70.
　　注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
　　Section B
　　Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked [ A ], [ B ], [ C ] and [ D ]. You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the center.
　　Passage One
　　Questions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.
　　 Media mogul (显要人物 ) Ted Turner yesterday sold more than half of his AOL Time Warner Inc. holdings for about $780 million, a move that reflects his efforts to slash his financial stake in the media giant.
　　 After the close of regular trading yesterday, Turner sold a block of 60 million shares to Goldman Sachs & Co. for $13.07 per share, or 31 cents below the stock’s closing price yesterday. Goldman was said by Wall Street sources to be offering the
　　stock to major investors for $13.15.
　　 An outspoken critic of the corporation, Turner remains AOL Time Warner’s largest individual shareholder, with 45 million shares, and a member of its board of directors. A spokeswoman for Turner referred questions to AOL Time Warner.
　　 At his peak Turner owned about 130 million shares, but he lost billions of dollars in wealth and grew bitter after the stock plunged following the merger of America Online and Time Warner in January 2001.
　　 Turner, who initially supported the merger, later expressed outrage over revelations that America Online had manipulated its financial results. The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating AOL, and the corporation has acknowledged discovering tens of millions of dollars of overstated revenue.
　　 Turner resigned as vice chairman earlier this year and has been spending less of his time on AOL Time Warner matters.
　　He stepped down after achieving his goal of pressuring the founder of America Online---Steve Case---to resign as the corporation’s chairman. Case said he was giving up the post to avoid a bruising public battle for reelection at next week’s
　　annual meeting.
　　 In the effort to oust Case, Turner teamed up with Gordon Crawford, the senior media portfolio manager at Capital Research & Management, the largest institutional shareholder in AOL Time Warner. Capital Research has indicated it will vote against Case’s election to remain on the board of directors next week--a position that analysts said should not affect the outcome. Turner, meanwhile, has said he will support the management slate (候选人) that includes Case and will make Richard D. Parsons the company’s chairman and chief executive.
　　 Turner, a visionary who started Cable News Network, is in the midst of rolling out a new chain of restaurants, Ted’s Montana Grill, featuring bison burgers. He recently moved his residence from Georgia to Florida for estate-planning purposes
　　and is spending time and money on his independent film company, which lost millions of dollars on a lengthy movie about the Civil War.
　　注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
　　57. From the first three paragraphs, we learn that __
　　[A] Goldman has made a profit from this transaction of shares with Turner
　　[B] Turner always expresses his dissatisfaction with the corporation openly
　　[C] Goldman bought the block of shares in order to become a member of the board
　　[D] Turner sold a large portion of his shares to retreat from the media business
　　58. Turner became extremely angry because __
　　[A] he had to sell a large portion of his shares to Goldman at a loss
　　[B] the merger covered the dissatisfactory financial results of AOL
　　[C] American Online was found to have exaggerated its revenue
　　[D] he lost billions of dollars in wealth due to the stock’s going low
　　59. All of the following about Case are true EXCEPT __
　　[A] he stepped down from the post of the founder of AOL
　　[B] he used to be the chairman of AOL Time Warner
　　[C] he had to resign from his post under pressure from Turner and Crawford
　　[D] he will meet with opposition fi’om Capital Research to remain on the board
　　60. The last paragraph shows that __
　　[A] Turner’s interest is presently centered on chain restaurants
　　[B] Turner is such a changeable person on business matters
　　[C] Turner will never give up his independent film company
　　[D] Turner is a businessman full of imagination
　　6l. The best title for this passage could be
　　[A] Turner makes a series of new decisions
　　[B] Turner shows his anger at AOL Time Warner
　　[C] Turner comes down from his peak in business
　　[D] Turner slashes his financial stake in AOL Time Warner
　　Passage Two
　　Questions 62 to 66 are based on the following passage.
　　 The era of the cowboy really began after the Civil War (1861-1865). During this decisive war the Texas cattle had roamed undisturbed in the wild, breeding freely on the plains and greatly increasing in number. By the end of the war, however, Texas was filled with wild cattle. The people in the mushrooming cities of the East and in the Middle West wanted more meat for their diet and local farmers could not keep up with their demands. Therefore, the need for the cowboy emerged from the demands of the people and the nature Of the culture.
　　 An image of American folklore which has inspired songs, stories, folk tales and legends has been the cowboy. These romantic figures of the wild frontier probably can trace their origin back to the time of the Spanish conquistadors. The Spanish
　　brought with them to the New World many young men who were experienced with cattle and horses. They were to evolve into the modem-day cowboy. These men were handy with tools and knew how to handle a horse. Some of them discovered the use of rope to catch cattle and developed the lariat.
　　 Their life was not an easy one. In winter they watched over the herds and in the springtime they selected cattle for market, often driving herds of them hundreds of miles to the nearest town. The cattle were then sold to buyers and the routine would start all over again.
　　 The life of a cowboy was an outdoor one endttred nnder harsh conditions. His wide-brimmed hat protected him from the glaring summer sun and his heavy leather jacket and gloves were his defense against the cold winters.
　　 His workday was long beginning before sunrise and lasting well into the night. His best friend was his horse and he spent most of his waking hours in the saddle. His speech was a mixture of Spanish and English and at night by a campfire he wove
　　his speech into songs about life on the prairie.
　　 A great boon to the life of the cowboy was the building of the railroads which connected eastern cities to those out West.
　　In 1866 when the Kansas and Pacific railroad reached the small dusty village of Abilene in Kansas, the life of the cowboy was connected to the rest of the country. Hundreds of small cow towns grew up along the old trails which led the cattle to market,and thus the west became integrated into the economic life of the country.
　　 Today the life of the cowboy is quite different from those early days after the Civil War. Helicopters rather than horses are now used to round up the cattle and modem technology used in the ranches has made the cowboy’s life less formidable.
　　Yet, the legends which surround him continue to perpetuate his image as the masterful hero of the Wild West.
　　注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
　　62. The appearance of the cowboy in the United States was due to __
　　[A] the Civil War
　　[B] the American culture
　　[C] the high demand of beef
　　[D] the wildness of the cattle
　　63. The cowboy may catch the cattle with the help of~
　　[A] lariat
　　[B] whistle
　　[C] wide-brimmed hat
　　[D] gloves
　　64. Which of the following is true about the life of a cowboy?
　　[A] The life was quite easy.
　　[B] They lived a cozy life.
　　[C] They were discriminated.
　　[D] The life was pretty hard
　　65. The word "boon" (Line 1, Para. 6) most probably means
　　[A] drawback
　　[B] benefit
　　[C] request
　　[D] strength
　　66. What does the author say about the cowboy?
　　[A] The era of the cowboy finished tragically.
　　[B] There is no cowboy anymore.
　　[C] The cowboy still lives a hard life.
　　[D] The cowboy is the hero in people’s mind.