四级仔细阅读理解逐句翻译

Passage1Reading leadership literature，you'd sometimes think that everyone has the potential to be an effective leader。

读领导文学，你有时会认为每个人都有可能成为一个有效的领导者。

I don’t believe that to be true. In fact, I see way fewer truly effective leaders than I see people stuck in positions of leadership who arc sadly incompetent and seriously misguided about their own abilities。

我不相信这是真的.事实上，我认为真正有效的领导者的方式比我看到的人都陷在领导的职位上，遗憾的是他们自己的能力不称职，严重误导了他们.Part of the reason this happens is a lack of honest self—assessment by those who aspire to （追求）leadership in the first place。

对产生这种现象的原因一部分是由那些渴望缺乏诚实的自我评估(追求）放在首位的领导We’ve all met the type of individual who simply must take charge。

Whether it’s a decision-making session, a basketball game, or a family outing，they can’t help grabbing the lead dog position and clinging on to it for dear life. They believe they’re natural born leaders。

2006年6月一、Communications technologies are far from equal when it comes to conveying the truth.通讯技术在传递真相的时候并不是简单地和真相本身一致。

The first study to compare honesty across a range of communication media has found that people are twice as likely to tell lies in phone conversations as they are in emails.从第一项对使用不同通讯媒介时的诚实程度的比较重可以看出，人们在使用电话时的说谎几率是使用电子邮件时的两倍。

The fact that emails are automatically recorded-and can come back to haunt (困扰) you-appears to be the key to the finding.因为电子邮件内容会被自动记录下来----并可能对你造成困扰----这就是这项研究的关键所在。

Jeff Hancock of Cor'nell University in Ithaca['iθəkə] , New York, asked 30 students to keep a communications diary for a week.Jeff Hancock在位于纽约州伊萨卡的康奈尔大学执教，他曾要求30个学生记录一周中每天的通讯情况。

In it they noted the number of conversations or email exchanges they had lasting more than 10 minutes, and confessed to how many lies they told.参与其中的人需要记录超过10分钟的对话或者电子邮件通讯的数量，并且要坦诚自己说了多少谎话。

2013年6月四级真题仔细阅读部分Part IV Reading Comprehension (Reading in Depth) (25 minutes)Section ADirections: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 the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.Questions 47 to 56 are based on the following passage.Walking, if you do it vigorously enough, is the overall best exercise for regular physical activity. It requires no equipment, everyone knows how to do it and it carries the 47 risk of injury. The human body is designed to walk. You can walk in parks or along a river or in your neighborhood. To get 48 benefit from walking, aim for 45 minutes a day, an average of five days a week.Strength training is another important 49 of physical activity. Its purpose is to build and 50 bone and muscle mass, both of which shrink with age. In general, you will want to do strength training two or three days a week, 51 recovery days between sessions.Finally, flexibility and balance training are 52 important as the body ages. Aches and pains are high on the list of complaints in old age. The result of constant muscle tension and stiffness of joints, many of them are 53 , and simple flexibility training can 54 these by making muscles stronger and keeping joints lubricated (润滑). Some of this you do whenever you stretch. If you watch dogs and cats, you’ll get an idea of how natural it is. The general55 is simple: whenever the body has been in one position for a while, it is good to 56 stretch it in an opposite position.Passage OneQuestions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.Junk food is everywhere. We’re eating way too much of it. Most of us know what we’re doing and yet we do it anyway.So here’s a suggestion offered by two researchers at the Rand Corporation: Why not take a lesson from alcohol control policies and apply them to where food is sold and how it’s displayed?“Many policy measures to control obesity（肥胖症）assume that people consciously and rationally choose what and how much they eat and therefore focus on providing information and more access to healthier foods,” note the two researchers.“In contrast,” the researchers continue, “many regulations that don’t assume people make rational choices have been successfully applied to control alcohol, a substance — like food — of which immoderate consumption leads to serious health problems.”The re search references studies of people’s behavior with food and alcohol and results of alcohol restrictions, and then lists five regulations that the researchers think might be promising if applied to junk foods. Among them:Density restrictions: licenses to sell alcohol aren’t handed out unplanned to all comers but are allotted（分配）based on the number of places in an area that already sell alcohol. These make alcohol less easy to get and reduce the number of psychological cues to drink.Similarly, the researchers say, being presented with junk food stimulates our desire to eat it. So why not limit the density of food outlets, particularly ones that sell food rich in empty calories? And why not limit sale of food in places that aren’t primarily food stores?Display and sales restrictions: California has a rule prohibiting alcohol displays near the cash registers in gas stations, and in most places you can’t buy alcohol at drive-through facilities. At supermarkets, food companies pay to have their wares in plac es where they’re easily seen. One could remove junk food to the back of the store and ban them from the shelves at checkout lines. The other measures include restricting portion sizes, taxing and prohibiting special price deals for junk foods, and placing warning labels on the products.57. What does the author say about junk food?A) People should be educated not to eat too much.B) It is widely consumed despite its ill reputation.C) Its temptation is too strong for people to resist.D) It causes more harm than is generally realized.58. What do the Rand researchers think of many of the policy measures to control obesity?A) They should be implemented effectively.B) They provide misleading information.C) They are based on wrong assumptions.D) They help people make rational choices.59. Why do policymakers of alcohol control place density restrictions?A) Few people are able to resist alcohol’s temptations.B) There are already too many stores selling alcohol.C) Drinking strong alcohol can cause social problems.D) Easy access leads to customers’ over-consumption.60. What is the purpose of California’s rule about alcohol display in gas stations?A) To effectively limit the density of alcohol outlets.B) To help drivers to give up the habit of drinking.C) To prevent possible traffic jams in nearby areas.D) To get alcohol out of drivers’ immediate sight.61. What is the general guideline the Rand researchers suggest about junk food control?A) Guiding people to make rational choices about food.B) Enhancing people’s awareness of their own health.C) Borrowing ideas from alcohol control measures.D) Resorting to economic, legal and psychological means.Passage TwoQuestions 62 to 66 are based on the following passage.Kodak’s dec ision to file for bankruptcy（破产）protection is a sad, though not unexpected,turning point for a leading American corporation that pioneered consumer photography and dominated the film market for decades, but ultimately failed to adapt to the digital revolution.Although many attribute Kodak’s downfall to “complacency(自满) ,” that explanation doesn’t acknow-ledge the lengths to which the company went to reinvent itself. Decades ago, Kodak anticipated that digital photography would overtake film — and in fact, Kodak invented the first digital camera in 1975 — but in a fateful decision, the company chose to shelf its new discovery to focus on its traditional film business.It wasn’t that Kodak was blind to the future, said Rebecca Henderson, a professor at Har vard Business School, but rather that it failed to execute on a strategy to confront it. By the time the company realized its mistake, it was too late.Kodak is an example of a firm that was very much aware that they had to adapt, and spent a lot of money trying to do so, but ultimately failed. Large companies have a difficult time switching into new markets because there is a temptation to put existing assets into the new businesses.Although Kodak anticipated the inevitable rise of digital photography, its corporate（企业的）culture was too rooted in the successes of the past for it to make the clean break necessary to fully embrace the future. They were a company stuck in time. Their history was so important to them. Now their history has become a liability.Kodak’s downfall over the last several decades was dramatic. In 1976, the company commanded 90% of the market for photographic film and 85% of the market for cameras. But the 1980s brought new competition from Japanese film company Fuji Photo, which undermined Kodak by offering lower prices for film and photo supplies. Kodak’s decision not to pursue the role of official film for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics was a major miscalculation. The bid went instead to Fuji, which exploited its sponsorship to win a permanent foothold in the marketplace.62. What do we learn about Kodak?A) It went bankrupt all of a sudden.B) It is approaching its downfall.C) It initiated the digital revolution in the film industry.D) It is playing a dominant role in the film market.63. Why does the author mention Kodak’s invention of the first digital camera?A) To show its early attempt to reinvent itself.B) To show its effort to overcome complacency.C) To show its quick adaptation to the digital revolution.D) To s how its will to compete with Japan’s Fuji photo.64. Why do large companies have difficulty switching to new markets?A) They find it costly to give up their existing assets.B) They tend to be slow in confronting new challenges.C) They are unwilling to invest in new technology.D) They are deeply stuck in their glorious past.65. What does the author say Kodak’s history has become?A) A burden.B) A mirror.C) A joke.D) A challenge.66. What was Kodak’s fatal mistake?A) Its blind faith in traditional photography.B) Its failure to see Fuji photo’s emergence.C) Its refusal to sponsor the 1984 Olympics.D) Its overconfidence in its corporate culture.Passage One到处都是垃圾食品。

Fast reading 1Food-as-Medicine Movement Is Witnessing ProgressA) Several times a month, you can find a doctor in the aisles of Ralph’s market in Huntington Beach, California, wearing awhite coat and helping people learn about food. On one recent day, this doctor was Daniel Nadeau, wandering the cereal aisle with Allison Scott, giving her some idea on how to feed kids who persistently avoid anything that is healthy. “Have you thought about trying fresh juices in the morning?” he asks her. “The frozen ora nges and apples are a little cheaper, and fruits are really good for the brain. Juices are quick and easy to prepare, you can take the frozen fruit out the night before and have it ready the next morning.”B) Scott is delighted to get food advice from a physician who is program director of the nearby Mary and Dick Allen Diabetes Center, part of the St. Joseph Hoag Health alliance. The center’s “Shop with Your Doc” program sends doctors to the grocery store to meet with any patients who sign up for the service, plus any other shoppers who happen to be around with questions.C) Nadeau notices the pre-made macaroni (通心粉)-and-cheese boxes in Scott’s shopping cart and suggests she switch to whole grain macaroni and real cheese. “So I’d have to make it?”she asks, her enthusiasm fading at the thought of how long that might take, just to have her kids reject it. “I’m not sure they’d eat it. They just won’t eat it.”D) Nadeau says sugar and processed foods are big contributors to the rising diabetes rates among chi ldren. “In America, over50 percent of our food is processed food,” Nadeau tells her. “And only 5 percent of our food is plant-based food. I think we should try to reverse that.” Scott agrees to try more fruit juices for the kids and to make real macaroni and cheese. Score one point for the doctor, zero for diabetes.E) Nadeau is part of a small revolution developing across California. The food-as-medicine movement has been around for decades, but it’s making progress as physicians and medical institutions make food a formal part of treatment, rather than relying solely on medications (药物). By prescribing nutritional changes or launching programs such as ‘Shop with your Doc’, they are trying to prevent, limit or even reverse disease by changing what patients eat. “There’s no question people can take things a long way toward reversing diabetes, reversing high blood pressure, even preventing cancer by food choices,”Nadeau says.F) In the big picture, says Dr. Richard Afable, CEO and president of ST. Joseph Hoag Health, medical institutions across thestate are starting to make a philosophical switch to becoming a health organization, not just a health care organization. That feeling echoes the beliefs of the Therapeutic Food Pantry program at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, which completed its pilot phase and is about to expand on an ongoing basis to five clinic sites throughout the city. The program will offer patients several bags of food prescribed for their condition, along with intensive traini ng in how to cook it. “We really want to link food and medicine, and not just give away food,” says Dr. Rita Nguyen, the hospital’s medical director of Healthy Food Initiatives. “We want people to understand what they’re eating, how to prepare it, the role food plays in their lives.”G) In Southern California, Loma Linda University School of Medicine is offering specialized training for its resident physiciansin Lifestyle Medicine — that is a formal specialty in using food to treat disease. Research findings increasingly show the power of food to treat or reverse diseases, but that does not mean that diet alone is always the solution, or that every illness can benefit substantially from dietary changes. Nonetheless, physicians say that they look at the collective data and a clear picture emerges: that the salt, sugar, fat and processed foods in the American diet contribute to the nation’s high rates of obesity, diabetes and heart disease. According to the World Health Organization, 80 percent of deaths from heart disease and stroke are caused by high blood pressure, tobacco use, elevated cholesterol and low consumption of fruits and vegetables.H) “It’s a different paradigm(范式) of how to treat disease,” says Dr. Brenda Rea, who helps run the family and prev entivemedicine residency program at Loma Linda University School of Medicine. The lifestyle medicine specialty is designed to train doctors in how to prevent and treat disease, in part, by changing patients’ nutritional habits. The medical center and school at Loma Linda also has a food cupboard and kitchen for patients. This way, patients not only learn about which foods to buy, but also how to prepare them at home.I) Many people don’t know how to cook, Rea says, and they only know how to heat things up. That means depending onpackaged food with high salt and sugar content. So teaching people about which foods are healthy and how to prepare them, she says, can actually transform a patient’s life. And beyond that, it might transform the health and lives of that patient’s family. “What people eat can be medicine or poison,” Rea says. “As a physician, nutrition is one of the most powerful things you can change to reverse the effects of long-term disease.”J) Studies have explored evidence that dietary changes can slow inflammation(炎症), for example, or make the body inhospitable to cancer cells. In general, many lifestyle medicine physicians recommend a plant-based diet — particularly for people with diabetes or other inflammatory conditions.K) “As what happened with tobacco, this will require a cultural shift, but that can happen,” says Nguyen. “In the same way physicians used to smoke, and then stopped smoking and were able to talk to patients about it, I think physicians can have a bigger voice in it.”36. More than half of the food Americans eat is factory-produced.37. There is a special program that assigns doctors to give advice to shoppers in food stores.38. There is growing evidence from research that food helps patients recover from various illnesses.39. A healthy breakfast can be prepared quickly and easily.40. Training a patient to prepare healthy food can change their life.41. One food-as-medicine program not only prescribes food for treatment but teaches patients how to cook it.42. Scott is not keen on cooking food herself, thinking it would simply be a waste of time.43. Diabetes patients are advised to eat more plant-based food.44. Using food as medicine is no novel idea, but the movement is making headway these days.45. Americans’ high rates of various illnesses result from the way they eat.Fast reading 2The start of high school doesn’t have to be stressfulA）This month, more than 4 million students across the nation will begin high school. Many will do well. But many will not. Consider that nearly two-thirds of students will experience the "ninth-grade shock," which refers to a dramatic drop in a student's academic performance. Some students cope with this shock by avoiding challenges. For instance, they may drop difficult coursework. Others may experience a hopelessness that results in failing their core classes, such as English, science and math.B)This should matter a great deal to parents, teachers and policymakers. Ultimately it should matter to the students themselvesand society at large, because students' experience of transitioning (过渡) to the ninth grade can have long-term consequences not only for the students themselves but for their home communities. We make these observations as research psychologists who have studied how schools and families can help young people thrive.C)In the new global economy, students who fail to finish the ninth grade with passing grades. in college preparatory coursework are very unlikely to graduate on time and go on to get jobs. One study has calculated that the lifetime benefit to the local economy for a single additional student who completes high school is half a million dollars or more. This is based on higher earnings and avoided costs in health care, crime, welfare dependence and other things.D)The consequences of doing poorly in the ninth grade can impact more than students' ability to find a good job. It can also impact the extent to which they enjoy life. Students lose many of the friends they turned to for support when they move from the eighth to the ninth grade. One study of ninth-grade students found that 50 percent of friendships among ninth graders changed from one month to the next, signaling striking instability in friendships.E)In addition, studies find the first year of high school typically shows one of the greatest increases in depression of any year over the lifespan. Researchers think that one explanation is that ties to friends are broken while academic demands are rising. Furthermore, most adult cases of clinical depression first emerge in adolescence (青春期) . The World Health Organization reports that depression has the greatest burden of disease worldwide, in terms of the total cost of treatment and the loss of productivity.F)Given all that's riding on having a successful ninth grade experience, it pays to explore what can be done to meet the academic, social and emotional challenges of the transition to high school. So far, our studies have yielded one main insight: Students' beliefs about change-their beliefs about whether people are stuck one way forever, or whether people can change their personalities and abilities-are related to their ability to cope, succeed academically and maintain good mental health. Past research has called these beliefs "mindsets (思维模式)," with a "fixed mindset" referring to the belief that people cannot change and a "growth mindset" referring to the belief that people can change.G)In one recent study, we examined 360 adolescents' beliefs about the nature of "smartness"-that is, their fixed mindsets about intelligence. We then assessed biological stress responses for students whose grades were dropping by examining their stress hormones (荷尔蒙) . Students who believed that intelligence is fixed-that you are stuck being "not smart" if you struggle in school-showed higher levels of stress hormones when their grades were declining at the beginning of the ninth grade. If students believed that intelligence could improve-that is to say, when they held more of a growth mindset of intelligence-they showed lower levels of stress hormones when their grades were declining. This was an exciting result because it showed that the body's stress responses are not determined solely by one's grades. Instead, declining grades only predicted worse stress hormones among students who believed that worsening grades were a permanent and hopeless state of affairs.H)We also investigated the social side of the high school transition. In this study, instead of teaching students that their smartness can change, we taught them that their social standing-that is, whether they are bullied or excluded or left out-can change over time. We then looked at high school students' stress responses to daily social difficulties. That is, we taught them a growth mindset about their social lives. In this study, students came into the laboratory and were asked to give a public speech in front of upper-year students. The topic of the speech was what makes one popular in high school. Following this, students had to complete a difficult mental math task in front of the same upper-year students.I)Experiment results showed that students who were not taught that people can change showed poor stress responses. When these students gave the speech, their blood vessels contracted and their hearts pumped less blood through the body both responses that the body shows when it is preparing for damage or defeat after a physical threat. Then they gave worse speeches and made more mistakes in math. But when students were taught that people can change, they had better responses to stress, in part because they felt like they had the resources to deal with the demanding situation. Students who got thegrowth mindset intervention (干预) showed less-contracted blood vessels and their hearts pumped more blood-both of which contributed to more oxygen getting to the brain, and, ultimately, better performance on the speech and mental math tasks.J)These findings lead to several possibilities that we are investigating further. First, we are working to replicate (复制) these findings in more diverse school communities. We want to know in which types of schools and for which kinds of students these growth mindset ideas help young people adapt to the challenges of high school. We also hope to learn how teachers, parents or school counselors can help students keep their ongoing academic or social difficulties in perspective. We wonder what would happen if schools helped to make beliefs about the potential for change and improvement a larger feature of the overall school culture, especially for students starting the ninth grade.1.The number of people experiencing depression shows a sharp increase in the first year of high school.2.According to one study, students’ academic performance is not the only decisive factor of their stress response s.3.Researchers would like to explore further how parents and schools can help ninth graders by changing their mindset.4.According to one study, each high school graduate contributes at least 500,000 dollars to the local economy.5.In one study, students were told their social position in school is not unchangeable.6.It is reported that depression results in enormous economic losses worldwide.7.One study showed that friendships among ninth graders were far from stable.8.More than half of students will find their academic performance declining sharply when they enter the ninth grade.9.Researchers found through experiments that students could be taught to respond to stress in more positive way.10.It is beneficial to explore ways to cope with the challenges facing students entering high school.Intensive readingPassage OnePicture this: You’re at a movie theater food stand loading up on snacks. You have a choice of a small, medium or large soda. The small is $3.50 and the large is $5.50. It’s tough decision: The small size may not last yon through the whole movie, but $5.50 for some sugary drink seems ridiculous. But there’s a third option, a medium soda for $5.25. Medium may be the perfect amount of soda for you, but the large is only a quarter more. If you’re like mo st people, you end up buying the large.If you’re wondering who would buy the medium soda, the answer is almost no one. In fact, there’s a good chance the marketing department purposely priced the medium soda as a decoy (诱饵), making you more likely to buy the large soda rather than the small.I have written about this unique human nature before with my friend Ariely, who studied this phenomenon extensively after noticing pricing for subscriptions to Geography. The digital subscription was $59, the print subscription was $125, and the print plus digital subscription was also $125. No one in their right mind would buy the print subscription when you could get digital as well for the same price, so why was it even an option? Ariely ran an experiment and found t hat when only the two “real” choices were offered, more people chose the less-expensive digital subscription. But the addition of the bad option made people much more likely to choose the more expensive print plus digital option.Brain scientist call this effect “asymmetric dominance” and it means that people are attracted toward the choice nearest a clearly inferior option. Marketing professors call it the decoy effect, which is certainly easier to remember. Lucky for consumers, almost no one in the business community understands it.The decoy effect works because of the way our brains assign value when making choices. Value is almost never absolute; rather, we decide an object's value relative to our other choices. If more options are introduced the value equation changes.51.Why does the author ask us to imagine buying food in the movie theater ?A)To illustrate people’s peculiar shopping behavior.B)To illustrate the increasing variety of snacks there.C)To show how hard it can be to choose a drink there.D) To show how popular snacks are among movie fans.52. Why is the medium soda priced the way it is?A)To attract more customers to buy it.B) To show the price matches the amount.C) To ensure customers drink the right amount of soda.D)To make customers believe they are getting a bargain.53. What do we learn from Dan Ariely’s experiment?A)Lower -priced goods attract more customers.B) The Economist's promotional strategy works.C)The Economist's print edition turns out to sell the best.D) More readers choose the digital over the print edition.54. For what purpose is “the bad option(Line 7, Para. 3) added?A)To cater to the peculiar needs of some customers.B)To help customers to make more rational choices.C)To trap customers into buying the more pricey item.D)To provide customers with a greater variety of goods.55. How do we assess the value of a commodity, according to the passage?A)By considering its usefulness.B) By comparing it with other choices.C) By taking its quality into account.D) By examining its value equationPassage TwoBoredom has, paradoxically, become quite interesting to academics lately. In early May, London’s Boring Conference celebrated seven years of delighting in dullness. At this event, people flocked to talks about weather, traffic jams and vending-machine sounds, among other sleep-inducing topics.What, exactly, is everybody studying? One widely accepted psychological definition of boredom is “the distasteful experience of wanting, but being unable, to engage in satisfying activity.” But how can you quantify a person’s boredom leveland compare it with someone else’s? In 1986, psychologists introduced the Boredom Proneness Scale, designed to measure an individual’s overall tendency to feel bored. By contrast, the Multidimensional State Boredom scale, developed in 2008, measures a person’s feelings of boredom in a given situation.Boredom has been linked to behavior issues including inattentive driving, mindless snacking, excessive drinking, and addictive gambling. In fact, many of us would choose pain over boredom. One team of psychologists discovered that two-thirds of men and a quarter of women would rather self-administer electric shocks than sit alone with their thoughts for 15 minutes. Researching this phenomenon, another team asked volunteers to watch boring, sad, or neutral films, during which they could self-administer electric shocks. The bored volunteers shocked themselves more and harder than the sad or neutral ones did.But boredom isn’t all bad. By encouraging self-reflection and daydreaming, it can spur creativity. An early study gave participants abundant time to complete problem-solving and word-association exercises. Once all the obvious answers were exhausted, participants gave more and more incentive answers to combat boredom. A British study took these findings one step further, asking subjects to complete a creative challenge (coming up with a list of alternative uses for a household item). One group of subjects did a boring activity first, while the others went straight to the creative task. Those whose boredom pumps had been primed were more productive.In our always-connected world, boredom may be a hard-to-define state, but it is a fertile one. Watch paint dry or water boil, or at least put away your smartphone for a while, and you might unlock your next big idea.46. When are people likely to experience boredom, according to an accepted psychological definition?A) When they don’t have the chance to do what they want.B) When they don’t enjoy the materials they are studying.C) When they experience something unpleasant.D) When they engage in some routine activities.47. What does the author say boredom can lead to?A) Determination B) ConcentrationC) Mental deterioration D) Harmful conduct48. What is the finding of one team of psychologists in their experiment?A) V olunteers prefer watching a boring movie to sitting alone deliberating.B) Many volunteers choose to hurt themselves rather than endure boredom.C) Male volunteers are more immune to the effects of boredom than females.D) Many volunteers are unable to resist boredom longer than fifteen minutes.49. Why does the author say boredom isn’t all bad?A) It stimulates memorization.B) It allows time for relaxation.C) It may promote creative thinking.D) It may facilitate independent learning.50. What does the author suggests one do when faced with a challenging problem?A) Stop idling and think big. B) Unlock one’s smartp hone.C) Look around oneself for stimulation. D) Allow oneself some time to be bored.Section BDirections: In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it. Each statement contains information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraph from which the information is derived. You may choose a paragraph more than once. Each paragraph is marked with a letter. Answer the questions by marking the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2.How to not be boringA) Humans are creatures of habit. We love to establish a routine and stick with it. Then we often put ourselves on auto-pilot. Routines can be incredibly useful in helping you get things done. However, too much of a routine can also make you incredibly boring. Nevertheless, many people live lives that are boringly predictable, or live a life where everything is outlined or planned.B) To tell the truth, interesting people are more popular among their friends. If you don 't arouse someone's curiosity or brighten someone's day, you probably come across as being a little bit dull. But that doesn't mean your life has ended and you can't do anything to change it. If you find yourself searching for something to say beyond small talk, try these tactics to find more interesting approaches to conversation.C) Recently, I was at a gathering of colleagues when someone turned to me and asked, "So, what's new with you?" Ordinarily, I think I'm a good conversationalist. After all, it's literally my job to talk to people and tell their stories or share their advice. And that's not exactly an unexpected question. Still, the only "new-to-me" topics that came to mind were my daughter's basketball tournament (锦标赛) and my feelings about that morning's political headlines- neither amusing nor appropriate topics at that moment.D) Oh, no, I thought. Have I become boring? But sharing our experiences in an authentic way to connect with other people is what makes us interesting, says associate professor Michael Pirson. The hesitation I felt in not sharing the ordinary things that were happening in my life, and the wild mental search for something more interesting, may have backfired and made me seem less interesting.E) "If someone is making up some conversation that might be interesting, it's probably not going to land well," says Pirson, whose expertise includes trust and well-being, mindfulness, and humanistic management. "It's going to feel like a made-up conversation that people don't necessarily want to tune in to."F) The most interesting people aren't those who 've gone on some Eat, Pray, Love journey to find themselves. Instead, Pirson says, they're those who examine the ordinary. "Often, the 'boring things' may not be boring at all. Maybe they are actually little miracles," he says. Share your observations about the world around you - interesting stories you heard or things you noticed- and you may be surprised by the universal connection they inspire.G) This is essentially how Jessica Hagy starts her day. The author of How to Be Interesting: An Instruction Manual, Hagy spends a lot of time thinking about what's interesting to her. People who are interesting are persistently curious, she says.H) Think about the everyday things around you and ask questions about them. What is that roadside monument I see on my way to work every day? Who built that interesting building in my city? What nearby attractions haven't I visited? Why do people do things that way? Use what you find to ask more questions and learn more about the world around you. "Having thatsort of curiosity is almost like a protective gear from getting into boredom," she says. And when you find things that are truly interesting to you, share them.I) Television veteran Audrey Morrissey, executive producer of NBC's The Voice, is always looking for what will make a person or story interesting to viewers: It's usually a matter of individuality. "Having a strong point of view, signature style, or being a super-enthusiast in a particular field makes someone interesting," she says. That means embracing what is truly interesting or unique about yourself. "Many people are 'not boring' in the way that they can carry a conversation or can be good at a social gathering, etc. To be interesting means that you have lived life, taken risks, traveled, sought out experience to learn for yourself and share with others," she says.J) Of course, it's possible to be a fountain of knowledge and a boring person, says public relations consultant Andrea Pass. Paying attention to the listener is an important part of having a conversation that's interesting to both parties. Talking on and on about what's interesting to you isn't going to make you an interesting person, she says.K) "If the listener is not paying attention, it's your sign to shorten the story or change direction. Make sure to bring the audience into the conversation so that it is not one-sided," Pass says. Be a better listener yourself, and give others opportunities to participate in the conversation by inviting them with questions or requests to share their own experiences or thoughts. (e. g. , "Now, tell me about your favorite book," or "Have you ever been to that attraction?") Questions are a powerful tool, especially when they encourage others to disclose information about themselves. A 2012 study from the University of California, Santa Barbara, found that roughly 40% of the time we are talking, we're disclosing subjective information about our experience. And when we're doing so, our brains are more engaged. So one strategy to leave others with the impression that you 're a sparkling conversation partner is to get others to talk about themselves.L) Being relatable is also essential, Morrissey says. "The best entertainment and storytelling comes from people who are relatable- those who don't shy away from opening up but freely share who they are and what they care about. These are the people viewers most relate to and find interesting. Being authentic, honest, and vulnerable is always interesting."M) I have now come to realize that being boring, in actuality, is not only about who you are as a person, but also how you present yourself. No matter what, make sure you are having fun in life. Because when you are enjoying, people around you will begin to enjoy as well. Show some interest in them and they will definitely show some in you. If you are a very reserved person, this could be a little difficult at first. But with a little effort, you can definitely improve.36. Pirson claims that some ordinary things may often prove to be miraculously interesting.37. To make a conversation interesting, it is important that you listen to the other party attentively.38. A person who is unable to stimulate others' curiosity or make their life enjoyable may appear somewhat boring.39. Interesting people usually possess certain unique qualities, according to a TV program producer.40. Be interested in others and they are sure to be interested in you.41. The author considers himself usually good at conducting conversations.42. Interesting people are always full of curiosity.43. Falling into a routine can tum a person into an utter bore.44. One strategy to be a good conversationalist is to motivate your partner to tell their own stories.45. Interesting as it might appear, a made-up conversation will probably tum out to be dull.。

2018年6月英语四级仔细阅读原文及解析读原文：Losing your ability to think and remember is pretty scary. We know the risk of dementia (痴呆) increases with age. But if you have memory slips, you probably needn’t worry. There are pretty clear differences between signs of dementia and age-related memory loss.After age 50, it’s quite common to have trouble remembering the names of people, places and thing quickly, says Dr. Kirk Daffner of Brigham and Woman’s Hospital in Boston.The brain ages just like the rest of the body. Certain parts shrink, especially areas in the brain that are important to learning, memory and planning. Changes in brain cells can affect communication between different regions of the brain. And blood flow can be reduced as blood vessels narrow.Forgetting the name of an actor in a favorite movie, for example, is nothing to worry about. But if you forget the plot of the movie or don’t remember even seeing it, that’s far more concerning, Daffner says.When you forget entire experiences, he says, that’s “a red flag that something more serious may be involved.” Forgetting how to operate a familiar object like a microwave oven, or forgetting how to drive to the house of a friend you’ve visited many times before canalso be signs of something going wrong.But even then, Daffner says, people shouldn’t panic. There are many things that can cause confusion and memory loss, including health problems like temporary stoppage of ……Defense against memory loss is to try to prevent it by building up your brain’s cognitive (认知的) reserve, Daffner says.“Read books, go to movies, take on new hobbies or activities that force one to think in novel ways,” he says. In other words, keep your brain busy and working. And also get physically active, because exercise is a known brain booster.46. Why does the author say that one needn’t be concerned about memory slips?A) Not all of them are symptoms of dementia.B) They occur only among certain groups of people.C) Not all of them are related to one’s ag e.D) They are quite common among fifty-year-olds.47. What happens as we become aged according to the passage?A) Our interaction skills deteriorate.B) Some parts of our brain stop functioning.C) Communication within our brain weakens.D) Our whole brain starts shrinking.48. Which memory-related symptom should people takeseriously?A) Totally forgetting how to do one’s daily routines.B) Inability to recall details of one’s life experiences.C) Failure to remember the names of movies or actors.D) Occasionally confusing the addresses of one’s friends.49. What should people do when signs of serious memory loss show up?A) Check the brain’s cognitive reserve. C) Turn to a professional for assistance.B) Stop medications affecting memory. D) Exercise to improve their well-being.50. What is Dr Daffner’s advice for combating memory loss?A) Having regular physical and mental checkups.B) Taking medicine that helps boost one’s brain.C) Engaging in known memory repair activities.D) Staying active both physically and mentally.答案解析Passage One46. 答案A解析：根据定位词needn’t be concerned和memory slips定位到第一段第三和第四句，原文there are pretty clear differences between signs of dementia and age-related memory loss与A选项意思一致。

2008年6月一、Global warming may or may not be the great environmental crisis of the 21st century, but- regardless of whether it is or isn't - we won't do much about it. 全球变暖或许是21世纪最大的环境危机，但无论是或不是，我们都不会对全球变暖做什么。

We will argue over it and may even, as a nation, make some fairly solemn-sounding commitments to avoid it.我们会不断地为此争吵，甚至可能以国家形式作出一些貌似严重的承诺，以避免全球变暖发生。

But the more dramatic and meaningful these commitments seem, the less likely they are to be observed.但是这些承诺看上去越是戏剧化，越是有意义，就越不可能成为现实。

A1 Gore calls global warming an "inconvenient truth," as if merely recognizing it could put us on a path to a solution.戈尔称全球变暖为“不可忽视的真相”，好像仅仅认识到其存在，我们就可以找到解决办法。

But the real truth is that we don't know enough to relieve global warming, and - without major technological breakthroughs - we can't do much about it.但是真正的真相是，我们并不具备足够的知识来缓解全球变暖，如果没有重大的科技突破，我们根本无法做出什么成绩。

2021年6月英语四级阅读理解〔二〕翻译Some of the world’s most significant problems never hit headlines. One example comes from agriculture. Food riots and hunger make news. But the trend lying behind these matters is rarely talked about. This is the decline in the growth in yields of some of the world’s major crops.A new study by the University of Minnesota and McGill University in Montreal looks at where, and how far, this decline is occurring。

一些世界上最有影响的问题从不上头条新闻。

其中一个例子就是农业问题。

粮食暴动和饥饿产生新闻，但躺在这些问题背后的趋势却很少被谈及。

这是因为一些世界主要农作物产区的产量在下降。

蒙特利尔的明尼苏达和麦吉尔大学的一项新研究着眼于研究这种正在发生的下降趋势在哪，还有多远。

The authors take a vast number of data points for the four most important crops: rice, wheat corn and soybeans(大豆). They find that on between 24% and 39% of all harvested areas, the improvement in yields that tood place before the 1980s slowed down in the 1990s and 2000s。

2007年6月一、I've been writing for most of my life.我一辈子大部分时间都在从事写作。

The book Writing Without Teachers introduced me to one distinction and one practice that has helped my writing processes tremendously.《写作无师自通》这本书想我介绍了一种区别和一种练习。

帮助我大大提高了写作水平。

The distinction is between the creative mind and the critical mind.区别是关于创造性思维和评判性思维之间的区别。

While you need to employ both to get to a finished result, they cannot work in parallel no matter how much we might like to think so.你需要做的是运用两者帮助你得到一个结果，但是他们不能同时起作用，无论我们多么想要这样做。

Trying to criticize writing on the fly is possibly the single greatest barrier to writing that most of us encounter.试图匆忙地批判写作内容可能是我们大多数人在写作时遇到的最大障碍。

If you are listening to that 5th grade English teacher correct your grammar while you are trying to capture a fleeting （稍纵即逝的）thought, the thought will die.如果你按照五年级英语老师教你的，在努力抓紧稍纵即逝的想法的同时纠正你的语法，这个想法肯定会消失。

Aldous Huxley was a most unfortunate man.When he died in 1963 he must have expired in the confident belief that the event would be given wide coverage in the press the next day.After all,his career had not been without distinction.Where he made his big mistake was in dying on the same day that John F.Kennedy was assassinated.As a result Huxley got about three column inches at the bottom of page 27.In the same way the death of Victor Farris has gone widely unnoticed because he foolishly shuffled off this mortal coil at the same time as Mr.Konstantin Chernenko.Now,as you all know,Victor Farris was the chap who invented the paper clip.The paper milk carton too.And paper clips and milk cartons will be in use long after everyone has forgotten the name of the comrade who came between Andropov and whatever this new bloke is called.『The same goes for the inventor of the supermarket trolley who died in Switzerland a few months ago.』①Fell off his trolley,so to speak.『For all I know,he may be a household name in his own canton and they are putting up a statue of home wheeling his trolley,and are going to commemorate him on one of those ever-so-tasteful Swiss postage stamps we used to collect when we were younger and wiser,』②but I doubt if his name will be remembered outside the borders of his small country.Personally I forgot it within minutes of reading of his decease.Not that it matters.Somehow it is hard to imagine things like paper clips and supermarket trolleys having had a named inventor.It’s like discovering that at a particular moment of history a particular person invented the spoon,or the chair, or socks.One assumes that these everyday objects just happened,or evolved through natural selection.It isn’t necessarily so.I read only the other day that Richard Ⅱinvented the handkerchief.Almost everything else was invented either by Leonardo daVinci(scissors,bicycles,helicopters,and probably spoons,socks and the Rubik cube as well)or by Benjamin Franklin(lightning-conductor,rocking-chair,bifocals)or else by Joseph Stalin(television).It’s quite possible that Leonardo or Benjamin Franklin or Stalin also invented the supermarket trolley.Certainly it has been invented more than once.Hardly was Herr Edelweiss(or whatever the Swiss chap was called)in his grave,than news came of the death of SylvanN.Goodman at the age of 86.Sylvan also invented the supermarket trolley or,as the Los Angeles Times report calls it,the shopping cart.Be that as it may,Herr Edelweiss or Sylvan Goodman,or both,did a grand job and madesupermarket shopping far less hellish than it would otherwise be.The next step will be to get the trolleys out of the shops and into the streets.You could put an engine in the front and call it a car.Or give it big wheels and a canopy and call it a pram.The possibilities are endless.1.It can be inferred from the passage that Herr Edelweiss.A.was remembered by the people all over worldB.made a lot of money from his inventionC.was not very famousD.was a business partner of Sylvan Goodman2.The author writes this article in order to illustrate that.A.the names of the people who invented the most useful things are usually forgottenB.everyday objects are invented and evolve through natural selectionC.many everyday objects are invented more than onceD.many famous people have passed away without being noticed3.Who probably invented spoons?A.Leonardo da Vinci.B.Benjamin Franklin.C.Victor Farris.D.A person unknown.4. By stating that Leonardo da Vinci invented helicopters, the author means .A. he really did itB. he is a military scientistC. he painted in one of his masterpieces a helicoptersD. people turn to ascribe inventions to him but they are wrong5.What can be inferred about Aldous Huxley?A.His death was not reported by the press.B.He was a famous inventor.C.He made a very big mistake in his late years.D.He died on the same day as John F.Kenneddy.V ocabulary1.canopy n. 天篷2.pram n. 婴儿车长难句解析①【解析】“the same goes”解析为同样的事情也发生，例:The same goes for our classmates.同样的事情也发生在我的同学身上。

Passage1Reading leadership literature, you’d sometimes think that everyone has the potential to be an effective leader. 读领导文学，你有时会认为每个人均有也许成为一种有效旳领导者。

I don’t believe that to be true. In fact, I see way fewer truly effective leaders than I see people stuck in positions of leadership who arc sadly incompetent and seriously misguided about their own abilities. 我不相信这是真旳。

实际上，我认为真正有效旳领导者旳方式比我看到旳人都陷在领导旳职位上，遗憾旳是他们自己旳能力不称职，严重误导了他们。

Part of the reason this happens is a lack of honest self-assessment by those who aspire to（追求）leadership in the first place. 对产生这种现象旳原因一部分是由那些渴望缺乏诚实旳自我评估（追求）放在首位旳领导We've all met the type of individual who simply must take charge. Whether it's a decision-making session, a basketball game, or a family outing, they can't help grabbing the lead dog position and clinging on to it for dear life. They believe they're natural born leaders.我们都碰到了个人旳类型，他们必须负责。