2004年06月英语四级B卷试题（阅读）

Part II Reading Comprehension (35 minutes)
Directions: 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 decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the centre.
Passage One
Questions 11 to 15 are based on the following passage.
Sign has become a scientific hot button. Only in the past 20 years have specialists in language study realized that signed languages are unique - a speech of the hand. They offer a new way to probe how the brain generates and understands language,
and throw new light on an old scientific controversy: whether language, complete with grammar, is something that we are born with, or whether it is a learned behavior. The current interest in sign language has roots in the pioneering
work of one rebel teacher at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., the worlds only liberal arts university for deaf people.
When Bill Stokoe went to Gallaudet to teach English, the school enrolled him in a course in signing. But Stokoe noticed something odd: among themselves, students signed differently from his classroom teacher.
Stokoe had been taught a sort of gestural code, each movement of the hands representing a word in English. At the time, American Sign Language (ASL) was thought to be no more than a form of pidgin English (混杂英语 ). But Stokoe believed the "hand talk" his students used looked richer. He wondered: Might deaf people actually have a genuine language? And could that lan-guage be unlike any other on Earth? It was 1955, when even deaf peopie dismissed their signing as "substandard". Stokoes idea was academic heresy (异端邪说 ).
It is 37 years later. Stokoe - now devoting his time to writing and editing books and journals and to producing video materials on ASL and the deaf culture - is having lunch at a caf6 near the Gallaudet campus and explaining how he started a revolution. For decades educators fought his idea that signed languages are natural languages like English, French and japanese. They assumed language must be based on speech, the modulation (调节) of sound. But sign language is based on the movement of hands, the
modulation of space. "What I said," Stokoe explains, "is that language is not mouth stuff- its brain stuff."

11. The study of sign language is thought to be
A) an approach to simplifying the grammatical structure of a language
B) an attempt to clarify misunderstanding about the origin of language
C) a challenge to traditional views on the nature of language
D) a new way to took at the learning of language

12.The present growing interest in sign language was stimulated by
A) a leading specialist in the study Of liberal arts
B) an English teacer in a university for the deaf
C) Some senior experts in American Sign Language
D) a famous Scholar in thestudy of the human brain

13. According to Stokoe, sign language is
A) an international language C) an artificial language
B) a substandard language D) a genuine language

14. Most educators objected to Stokoes idea because they thought
A) a language should be easy to use and understand
B) sign language was tOO artificial to be widely accepted
C) a language could only exist in the form of speech sounds
D) sign language was not extensively used even by deaf people

15. Stokoes argument is based on his belief that
A) language is a product of the brain
B) language is a system of meaningful codes
C) sign language is derived from natural language
D) sign language is as efficient as any other language

Passage Three
Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.
It came as something of a surprise when Diana, Princess of Wales, made a trip co Angola in 1997, to support the Red Crosss campaign for a total ban on all anti-personnel landmines. Within hours of arriv!ng in Angola, television screens around the world were filled with images of her comforting victims injured in explosions caused by landmines. "I knew the statistics,"
she said. "But putting a face to those figures brought the reality home to me; like when I met Sandra, a 13- year-old girl who had lost her leg, and people like her."
The Princess concluded with a simple message: "We must stop landmines". And she used every opportunity during her visit to repeat this message.
But, back in London, her views were not shared by some members of the British government, which refused to support a ban on these weapons. Angry politicians launched an attack On the Princess in the press. They described her as "very ill -informed" and a "loose cannon (乱放跑的人21. Princess Diana paid a visit to Angola in 1997
A) to clarify the British governments stand on landmines
B) to establish her image as a friend of landmine victims
C) to investigate the sufferings of landmine victims there
D) to voice her support for a total ban of landmines [D]

22. What did Diana mean when she said "... putting a face tO those figures brought the reality home to me" (Line 5, Para. 1)?
A) Meeting the landmine victims in person made her believe the statistics.
B) She just couldnt bear to meet the landmine victims face to face.
C) The actual situation in Angola made her feel like going back home.
D) Seeing the pain of the victims maher realize the seriousness of the situation.

23. Some members of the British government criticized Diana because
A) she had not consulted the government before the visit
B) she was ill-informed of the governments policy
C) they were actually opposed to banning landmines
D) they believed that she had misinterpreted the situation in Angola

24. How did Diana respond to the criticisms?
A) She made more :appearances on TV.
B) She paid no attention to them.
C) She rose to argue with her opponents.
D) She met the 13-year-old girl as planned.

25. What did Princess Diana think of her visit to Angola?
A) It had caused embarrassment to the British government.
B) It had greatly promoted her popularity.
C) It had brought her closer to the ordinary people.
D) It had affected her relations with the British government.

26. According to the passage, some people started a national association so as to
A) instruct people how to keep the bomb safe at home

B) coordinate the mass production of the destructive weapon

C) promote the large-scale sale of this newly invented weapon

D) block any legislation to ban the private possession of the bomb [D]

27. Some people oppose the ownership of H-bombs by individuals on the grounds that
A) they may fall into the hands of criminals

B) peoples lives will be threatened by the weapon

C) most people dont know how to handle the weapon

D) the size of the bomb makes it difficult to keep in a drawer

28. By saying that the bomb also has a deterrent effect the spokesman means that it
A) can kill those entering others houses by force

B) will threaten the safety of the owners as well

C) will frighten away any possible intruders

D) can show the special status of its owners

29. According to the passage, opponents of the private ownership of H-bombs are very much worried that
A) the cost of the weapon will put citizens on an unequal basis

B) the wide use of the weapon will push up living expenses tremendously

C) poorly-educated Americans will find it difficult to make use of the weapon

D) the influence of the association is too powerful for the less privileged to overcome

30. From the tone of the passage we know that the author is
A) not serious about the private ownership of H-bombs

B) concerned about the spread of nuclear weapons

C) doubtful about the necessity Of keeping H-bombs at home for safety

D) unhappy with those who vote against the ownership of H-bombs