2006年6月17日英语四级试题（阅读）

Part II Reading Comprehension (35 minutes)
Directons: There are 4 passages in this part. 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 secide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the centre.

Passage One
Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.

Educating girls quite possibly yields a higher rate of return than any other investment available in the developing world. Women's education may be unusual territory for economists. but enhancing women's contribution to development is actually as much an economic as a social issue. And economics. with its emphasis on incentives(激励), provides guideposts that point to an explanation for why so many girls are deprived of an education.

Parents in low-income countries fail to invest in their daughters because they do not expect them to make an economic contribution to the family: girls grow up only to marry into someboby else's family and bear children. Girls are thus seen as less valuable than boys and are kept at home to do housework while their brothers are sent to school - the prophecy(预言) becomes self-fulfilling, trapping women in a vicious circle(恶性循环) of neglect.

An educatied mother, on the other hand, has greater earning abilities outside the home and faces an entirely different set of choices. She is likely to have fewer but healthier children and can insist on the development of all her children, ensuring that her daughters are given a fair chance. The education of her daughters then makes it much more likely that the next generation of girls, as well as of boys, will be educated and healthy. The vicious circle is thus transformed into a virtuous circle.

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21. The author argues that educating girls in developing countries is ______.
A. rewarding B. troublesome C. expensive D. labor-saving

22. By saying “... the prophecy becomes self-fulfilling...”(Lines 4-5,Para 2),the author means that _______.
A. girls will eventually find their goals in life beyond reach
B. girls will be increasingly discontented with their life at home
C. girls will be capalbe of realizing their own dreams
D. girls will turn out to be less valuable than boys

23. The author believes that a vicious circle can turn into a virtuous circle when ____.
A. women care more about education
B. parents can afford their daughters' education
C. girls can gain equeal access to education
D. a family has fewer but healthier children

24. What does the author say about women's education?
A. It has aroused the interest of a growing number of economists.
B. It will yield greater returns than other known investments.
C. It is now given top priority in many developing countries.
D. It deserves greater attention than other social issues.

25. The pasage mainly discusses _____.
A. unequal treatment of boys and girls in developing countries
B. the major contributions of educated women to society
C. the economic and social benefits of educating women
D. the potential earning power of well-educated women.

Passage Two
Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.

Psychiatrists(精神病专家Henry Metcalf, a 54-year-old journalist, knows it takes money to raise kds. But he's also worried that his enery will give out first. Sure, he can still ride bkes with his athletic fifth grader. but he's learned that young at heart doesn't mean young. Lately he's been taking afternoon naps(午睡Often, older parents hear the ticking of another kind of biological clock. Therapists who work withe middle-aged and older parents say fears about aging are nothing to laugh at. “They worry they'll be mistaken for grandparents, or that they'll need help getting up out of those little chairs in nursery school,” says Joann Galst, a New York psychologist. But at the core of those little fears there is often a much bigger one:“that they won't be alive long enough to support and protect their child,” she says.

Many late-life parents, though, say their children came at just the right time. After marrying late and undergoing years of fertility(受孕Kids of older dads are often smarter, happier and more sociable because their fathers are more involved in their lives.“The dads are older, more mature,” says Dr.Silber,“and more ready to focus on parenting.”

26. Why do psychiatrists regard maturity as an asset in child rearing?
A. Older parents can better balance their resources against children's demands.
B. Older parents are usually more experienced in bringing up their children.
C. Older parents are often better prepared financially.
D. Older parents can take better care of their children.

28. The author gives the example of Henry Metcalf to show that ____.
A. many people are young in spirit despite their advanced age
B. taking afternoon naps is a good way to naintain energy
C. older parents tend to be concerned about their aging bodies
D. older parents should exercise more to keep up with their athletic children

29. What's the biggest fear of older parents according to New York psychologist Joann Galst?
A. Being laughed at by other people.
B. Slowing down of their pace of life.
C. Being mistaken for grandparents.
D. Approaching of death.

30. What do we learn about Marilyn and Randy Nolen?
A. They thought they were an example of successful fertility treatment.
B. Not until they had the twins did they feel they had formed a family.
C. They believed that children born of older parents would be smarter.
D. Not until they reached middle age did they think of having children.

Interest in pursuing international careers has soared in recent years, enhanced by chronic(长久的Professionals seek career experience outside of their home ccountries for a variety of reasons. They may feel the need to recharge their batteries with a new challenge. They ay want a position with more responsibility that encourages creativity and initiative. Or they may wish to expose their children to another culture, and the opportunity to learn a second language.

When applying for a job, one usually has to submit a resume or curriculum vitae(CV). The two terms generally mean the same thing: a one or two page document describing one's educational qualifications and professional experience. However, guidelines for preparing a resume are constantly changing. The best advice is to find out what is appropriate regarding the corporte(公司的I. Educational requirements differ from country to country. In almost every case of crossborder's job hunting, just stating the title of your degree will not be an adequate description. Provide the reader with details about your studies and any related experience.

I. Pay attention to the resume format you use - chronological or reverse-chronological order, Chronological order means listing your oldest'work experience first. Reverse-chronological order means listing your current or most recent experience first. Most countries have preferences about which format is most acceptable. If you find no specific guidelines. the general preference is for the reverse-chronological format.

I. If you are submitting your resume in English, find out if the recipient(收件人United Kingdom, but this term is almost never used in the United States. A reader who is unfamiliar with these variations may assume that your resume contains errors.

31. Companies are hiring more foreign employees because ____.
A. they have difficulty finding qualified personnel at home
B. they find foreign employees are usually more talented
C. they need original ideas from employees hired overseas
D. they want to expand their business beyond home borders.

32. The author believes that an individual who applies to work overseas ____.
A. is usually creative and full of initiative
B. aims to improve his foreign language skills
C. seeks either his own or his children's development
D. is dissatisfied with his own life at home

33. When it comes to resume writing, it is best to ____.
A. know the employer's personal likes and isklikes
B. follow appropriate guidelines for job hunting
C. learn about the cocmpany's hiring process
D. take cultural factors into consideration

35. According to the author's last piece of advice, the applicants should be aware of ____.
A. the recipient's preference with regard to the format
B. the different educational systems in the US and the UK
C. the differences between the varieties of English
D. the distinctive features of American and British cultures

Speeding off in a stolen car, the thief thinks he has got a great catch. But he is for an unwelcome surprise. The car is fitted with a remote immobiliser(锁止器The idea goes like this. A control box fitted to the car contains a mini-cellphone, a microprocessor and memory, and a GPS(全球定位系统In the UK, a set of technical fixes is already making life harder for car thieves.‘The pattern of vehicle crime has changed,’says Martyn Randall, a security expert. He says it would only take him a few minutes to teach a person how to steal a car, using a bare minimum of tools. But only if the car is more than 10 years old.

Modern cars are far tougher to steal, as their engine management computer won't allow them to start unless they receive a unique ID code beamed out by the ignition(点火UK, technologies like this have helped achieve a 31% drop in vehicle-related crime since 1997.

But determined criminals are still managing to find other ways to steal cars, often by getting hold of the owner's keys. And key theft is responsible for 40% of thefts of vehicles fitted with a tracking system.

If the car travels 100 metres without the driver confiming theire ID, the system will send a signal to an operations centre that it has been stolen. The hundred metres minimum avoids false alarms due to inaccuracies in the GPS signal.

Staff at the centre will then contact the owner to confirm that the car really is missing, and keep police informed of the vehicle's movements via the car's GPS unit.

36. What's the function of the remote immobiliser fitted to a car?
A. To allow the car to lock automatically when stolen.
B. To prevent the car thief from restarting it onec it stops.
C. To help the police make a surprise attack on the car thief.
D. To prevent car theft by sending a radio signal to the car owner.

37. By saying ‘The pattern of vehicle crime has changed’(Lines 1-2,Para.3),Martyn Randall suggests that _____.
A. self-prepared tools are no longer enough for car theft
B. the thief has to make use of computer technology
C. it takes a longer time for the car thief to do the stealing
D. the thief has lost interest in stealing cars over 10 years old

39. Why does the tracking system set a 100-metre minimum before sending an alarm to the operations centre?
A. To give the driver time to contact the operations centre.
B. To allow for possible errors in the GPS system.
C. To keep police informed of the car's movements.
D. To leave time for the operations centre to give an alarm.

40. What will the operations centre do first after receiving an alarm?
A. Start the tracking systme.
B. Locate the missing car.
C. Contact the car owner.
D. Block the car engine.