专四阅读理解训练8篇.doc

英语专四阅读预测题（1）
As many as one thousand years ago in the Southwest, the Hopi and Zuni Indians of North America were building with adobe－sun baked brick plastered with mud. Their homes looked remarkably like modern apartment houses. Some were four stories high and contained quarters for perhaps a thousand people, along with store rooms for grain and other goods. These buildings were usually put up against cliffs, both to make construction easier and for defense against enemies. They were really villages in themselves, as later Spanish explorers must have realized since they called them "pueblos", which is Spanish for town.
The people of the pueblos raised what are called"the three sisters" - corn, beans, and squash. They made excellent pottery and wove marvelous baskets, some so fine that they could hold water. The Southwest has always been a dry country, where water is scarce. The Hopi and Zuni brought water from streams to their fields and gardens through irrigation ditches. Water was so important that it played a major role in their religion. They developed elaborate ceremonies and religious rituals to bring rain.
The way of life of less settled groups was simpler and more strongly influenced by nature. Small tribes such as the Shoshone and Ute wandered the dry and mountainous lands between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. They gathered seeds and hunted small animals such as small rabbits and snakes. In the Far North the ancestors of today’s Inuit hunted seals, walruses, and the great whales. They lived right on the frozen seas in shelters called igloos built of blocks of packed snow. When summer came, they fished for salmon and hunted the lordly caribou.
The Cheyenne, Pawnee, and Sioux tribes, known as the Plains Indians, lived on the grasslands between the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi River. They hunted bison, commonly called the buffalo. Its meat was the chief food of these tribes, and its hide was used to make their clothing and covering of their tents and tipis.
16. What does the passage mainly discuss?
A. The architecture of early American Indian buildings. B. The movement of American Indians across North America.
C. Ceremonies and rituals of American Indians. D. The way of life of American Indian tribes in early North America.
17. It can be inferred from the passage that the dwellings of the Hopi and Zuni were______.
A. very smallB. highly advancedC. difficult to defendD. quickly constructed
专业四级阅读练习（2）
　　Human beings have used tools for a very long time. In some parts of the world you can still find tools that people used more than two million years ago. They made these tools by hitting one stone against another. In this way, they broke off pieces from one of the stones. These chips of stone were usually sharp on one side. People used them for cutting meat and skin from dead animals, and also for making other tools out of wood.
　　Human beings needed to use tools because they did not have sharp teeth like other meat eating animals, such as lions and tigers. Tools helped people to get food more easily. Working with tools also helped to develop human intelligence. The human brain grew bigger, and human beings began to invent more and more tools and machines. The stone chip was one of the first tools that people used, and perhaps it is the most important. Some scientists say that it was the key to success of mankind.
　　24. The stone chip is thought to be the most important tool because it ______.
　　A. was one of the first tools 　 B. developed human capabilities
　　C. led to the invention of machines D. was crucial to the development of mankind 
　　25. At the end of the passage the author seems to suggest that life in future is ______.
　　A. disastrous B. unpredictable C. exciting D. colorful
英语专四阅读预测题（3）
About 5,000 years ago, the Egyptians and other people in the Near East began to use pictures as kind of writing. They drew simple pictures or signs to represent things and ideas, and also to represent the sounds of their language. The signs these people used became a kind of alphabet.
The Egyptians used to record information and to tell stories by putting picture writing and pictures together. When an important person died, scenes and stories from his life were painted and carved on the walls of the place where he was buried. Some of these pictures are like modern comic strip stories. It has been said that Egypt is the home of the comic strip. But, for the Egyptians, pictures still had magic power. So they did not try to make their way of writing simple. The ordinary people could not understand it.
By the year 1,000 BC, people who lived in the area around the Mediterranean Sea had developed a simpler system of writing. The signs they used were very easy to write, and there were fewer of them than in the Egyptian system. This was because each sign, or letter, represented only one sound in their language. The Greeks developed this system and formed the letters of the Greek alphabet. The Romans copied the idea, and the Roman alphabet is now used all over the world.
These days, we can write down a story, or record information, without using pictures. But we still need pictures of all kinds: drawing, photographs, signs and diagrams. We find them everywhere: in books and newspapers, in the street, and on the walls of the places where we live and work. Pictures help us to understand and remember things more easily, and they can make a story much more interesting.
27. Pictures of animals were painted on the walls of caves in France and Spain because______.
A. the hunters wanted to see the pictures B. the painters were animal lovers
C. the painters wanted to show imagination D. the pictures were thought to be helpful
28. The Greek alphabet was simpler than the Egyptian system for all the following reasons EXCEPT that______.
A. the former was easy to write B. there were fewer signs in the former
C. the former was easy to pronounce D. each sign stood for only one sound
29. Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. The Egyptian signs later became a particular alphabet. B. The Egyptians liked to write comic strip stories.
C. The Roman alphabet was developed from the Egyptian one. D. The Greeks copied their writing system from the Egyptians.
30. In the last paragraph, the author thinks that pictures ______.
A. should be made comprehensible B. should be made interesting
C. are of much use in our life D. have disappeared from our life
英语专四阅读预测题（4）
There are many theories about the beginning of drama in ancient Greece. The one most widely accepted today is based on the assumption that drama evolved from ritual. The argument for this view goes as follows. In the beginning, human beings viewed the natural forces of the world, even the seasonal changes, as unpredictable, and they sought through various means, to control these unknown and feared powers. Those measures which appeared to bring the desired results were then retained and repeated until they hardened into fixed rituals. Eventually stories arose which explained or veiled the mysteries of the rites. As time passed some rituals were abandoned, but the stories, later called myths, persisted and provided material for art and drama.
Those who believed that drama evolved out of ritual also argue that those rites contained the seed of theater because music, dance, masks, and costumes were almost always used. Furthermore, a suitable site had to be provided for performances, and when the entire community did not participate, a clear division was usually made between the "acting area" and the "auditorium". In addition, there were performers, and, since considerable importance was attached to avoiding mistakes in the enactment of rites, religious leaders usually assumed that task. Wearing masks and costumes, they often impersonated other people, animals, or supernatural beings, and mimed the desired effect-success in hunt or battle, the coming rain, the revival of the Sun-as an actor might. Eventually such dramatic representations were separated from religious activities.
Another theory traces the theater’s origin from the human interest in storytelling. According to this view, tales (about the hunt, war, or other feats) are gradually elaborated, at first through the use of impersonation, action, and dialogue by a narrator and then through the assumption of each of the roles by a different person. A closely related theory traces theater to those dances that are primarily rhythmical and gymnastic or that are imitations of animal movements and sounds.
22. What does the passage mainly discuss?
A. The origins of theater. B. The role of ritual in modern dance.
C. The importance of storytelling. D. The variety of early religious activities.
23. What aspect of drama does the author discuss in the first paragraph?
A. The reason drama is often unpredictable. B. The seasons in which dramas were performed.
C. The connection between myths and dramatic plots. D. The importance of costumes in early drama.
24. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a common element of theater and ritual?
A. Dance. B. Costumes. C. Music. D. Magic.
25. According to the passage, what is the main difference between ritual and drama?
A. Ritual uses music whereas drama does not. B. Ritual is shorter than drama.
C. Ritual requires fewer performers than drama. D. Ritual has a religious purpose and drama does not.
26. The passage supports which of the following statements?
A. No one really knows how the theater began. B. Myths are no longer represented dramatically.
C. Storytelling is an important part of dance. D. Dramatic activities require the use of costumes.
英语专四阅读预测题（5）
Most earthquakes occur within the upper 15 miles of the earth's surface. But earthquakes can and do occur at all depths to about 460 miles. Their number decreases as the depth increases. At about 460 miles one earthquake occurs only every few years. Near the surface earthquakes may run as high as 100 in a month, but the yearly average does not vary much. In comparison with the total number of earthquakes each year, the number of disastrous earthquakes is very small.
The extent of the disaster in an earthquake depends on many factors. If you carefully build a toy house with an erect set, it will still stand no matter how much you shake the table. But if you build a toy house with a pack of cards, a slight shake of the table will make it fall. An earthquake in Agadir, Morocco, was not strong enough to be recorded on distant instruments, but it completely destroyed the city. Many stronger earthquakes have done comparatively little damage. If a building is well constructed and built on solid ground, it will resist an earthquake. Most deaths in earthquakes have been due to faulty building construction or poor building sites. A third and very serious factor is panic. When people rush out into narrow streets, more deaths will result.
The United Nations has played an important part in reducing the damage done by earthquakes. It has sent a team of experts to all countries known to be affected by earthquakes. Working with local geologists and engineers, the experts have studied the nature of the ground and the type of most practical building code for the local area. If followed, these suggestions will make disastrous earthquakes almost a thing of the past.
There is one type of earthquake disaster that little can be done about. This is the disaster caused by seismic sea waves, or tsunamis. (These are often called tidal waves, but the name is incorrect. They have nothing to do with tides.) In certain areas, earthquakes take place beneath the sea. These submarine earthquakes sometimes give rise to seismic sea waves. The waves are not noticeable out at sea because of their long wave length. But when they roll into harbors, they pile up into walls of water 6 to 60 feet high. The Japanese call them "tsunamis", meaning "harbor waves", because they reach a sizable height only in harbors.
Tsunamis travel fairly slowly, at speeds up to 500 miles an hour. An adequate warning system is in use to warn all shores likely to be reached by the waves. But this only enables people to leave the threatened shores for higher ground. There is no way to stop the oncoming wave.
18. Which of the following CANNOT be concluded from the passage?
A. The number of earthquakes is closely related to depth.
B. Roughly the same number of earthquakes occur each year.
C. Earthquakes are impossible at depths over 460 miles.
D. Earthquakes are most likely to occur near the surfaces.
19. The destruction of Agadir is an example of ______. 
A. faulty building construction B. an earthquake's strength
C. widespread panic in earthquakes D. ineffective instruments
20. The United Nations' experts are supposed to______.
A. construct strong buildings B. put forward proposals C. detect disastrous earthquakes D. monitor earthquakes
21. The significance of the slow speed of tsunamis is that people may______.
A. notice them out at sea B. find ways to stop them C. be warned early enough D. develop warning systems
英语TEM4阅读理解模拟题（6）
It was the worst tragedy in maritime (航海的) history, six times more deadly than the Titanic.
When the German cruise ship Wilhelm Gustloff was hit by torpedoes (鱼雷) fired from a Russian submarine in the final winter of World War II, more than 10,000 people - mostly women, children and old people fleeing the final Red Army push into Nazi Germany - were packed aboard. An ice storm had turned the decks into frozen sheets that sent hundreds of families sliding into the sea as the ship tilted andbegan to go down. Others desperately tried to put lifeboats down. Some who succeeded fought offthose in the water who had the strength to try to claw their way aboard. Most people froze immediately. Tll never forget the screams," says Christa Ntitzmann, 87, one of the 1,200 survivors. She recalls watching the ship, brightly lit, slipping into its dark grave - and into seeming nothingness, rarely mentioned for more than half a century.
Now Germanys Nobel Prize-winning author Gtinter Grass has revived the memory of the 9,000 dead, including more than 4,000 children - with his latest novel Crab Walk, published last month. The book, which will be out in English next year, doesnt dwell on the sinking; its heroine is a pregnant young woman who survives the catastrophe only to say later: "Nobody wanted to hear about it, not here in the West (of Germany) and not at all in the East." The reason was obvious. As Grass put it in a recent interview with the weekly Die Woche: "Because the crimes we Germans are responsible for were and are so dominant, we didn\’t