四级英语每日练习
Passage 1
It is well known that teenage boys tend to do better 1) _____ math than girls, that male
high school students are more likely than their female counterparts 2) __________ advanced math courses like calculus, that virtually all the great mathematicians 3) _____ men. Are women born with 4) ____ mathematical ability? Or does society's sexism slow their progress? In 1980, two Johns Hopkins University researchers tried 5) ________ the eternal nature/nurture debate. Julian Stanley and Camilla Benbow 6) _____ 10,000 talented seventh and eighth graders between 1972 and 1979. Using the Scholastic Aptitude Test, in which math questions are meant to measure ability rather than knowledge, they discovered 7) ____________ sex differences. 8)_______ the verbal abilities of the males and females 9) _____ differed, twice as many boys as girls scored over 500 (on a scale of 200 to 800) on mathematical ability; at the 700 level, the ratio was 14 to 1. The conclusion: males have 10) _____ superior mathematical reasoning ability.
Benbow and Stanley's findings, 11) _____ were published in "Science", disturbed some
men and 12) ______ women. Now there is comfort for those people in a new study from the University of Chicago that suggests math 13) _____ not, after all, a natural male domain. Prof. Zalman Usiskin studied 1,366 tenth graders. They were selected from geometry classes and tested on their ability to solve geometry proofs, a subject requiring 14) __________ abstract reasoning and spatial ability. The conclusion 15) _____ by Usiskin: there are no sex differences in math ability.
11. A. as B. that C. which D. all
12. A. few B. not a few C. not few D. quite few
13. A. be B. were C. was D. is
14. A. none of B. neither of C. either D. both
15. A. got B. gained C. reached D. accomplished
Passage 2
We all know that a magician does not really depend on "magic" to perform his tricks, but
on his ability to act at great speed. 16) _____ , this does not prevent us from enjoying watching a magician 17) ______ rabbits from a hat. 18) _______ the greatest magician of all time was Harry Houdini who died in 1926. Houdini mastered the art of 19) _____ . He could free himself from the tight test knots or the most complicated locks in seconds. 20) _____ no one really knows how he did this, there is no doubt 21) _________ he had made a close study of every type of lock ever
invented. He liked to carry a small steel needle like tool strapped to his leg and he used this inplace of a key.
Houdini once asked the Chicago police to lock him in prison. They 22) __________ him in 1. A. at B. to
C. of
D. about 2. A. in tackling B. tackling C. to tackle D. about tackling
3. A. might be
4. A. smaller
5. A. to settle B. have been B. less B. to set C. must be C. fewer
C. settling
D. had been
D. not more D. setting 6. A. were tested
B. have tested
C. were testing
D. had tested 7. A. distinct B. instinct
8. A. Since B. However
9. A. scarcely not B. virtually C. remote D. vague C. As D. While C. largely D. hardly 10. A. superficially B. universally C. inherently D. initially
chains and locked him up, but he freed himself 23) _____ an instant. The police 24) ______ him
of having used a tool and locked him up again . This time he wore no clothes and there were chains round his neck, waist, wrists, and legs; but he again escaped in a few minutes. Houdini had probably hidden his "needle" in a wax like 25) ____________ and dropped it on the floor in the passage. 26) _____ he went past, he stepped on it so that it stuck to the bottom of his foot. His most
famous escape, however, was 27) _____ astonishing. He was heavily chained up and enclosed in
an empty wooden chest, the lid of 28) _____ was nailed down. The 29) _____ was dropped into
the sea in New York harbor. In one minute Houdini had swum to the surface. When the chest was 30) ________ , it was opened and the chains were found inside.
16. A. Generally B. However C. Possibly D. Likewise
17. A. to produce B. who produces C. produce D. how to produce
18. A. Out of the question B. Though C. Probably D. Undoubted
19. A. escaping B. locking C. opening D. dropping
20. A. Surprisingly B. Obviously C. Perhaps D. Although
21. A. i f B. whether C. as to D. that
22. A. i nvolved B. closed C. connected D. bound
23. A. a t B. by C. in D. for
24. A. r id B. charged C. accused D. deprived
25. A. c andle B. mud C. something D. substance
26. A. A s B. Usually C. Maybe D. Then
27. A. o verall B. all but C. no longer D. altogether
28. A. i t B. which C. that D. him
29. A. c hest B. body C. lid D. chain
30. A. brought up B. sunk C. broken apart D. snapped
Passage 3
Who won the World cup 1998 football game? What happened at the United Nations? How did the critics like the new play? 31) _______ an event takes place, newspapers are on the streets giving the details. Wherever anything happens in the world, reporters are on the spot to gather the news. Newspapers have one basic 32) ______ , to get the news as quickly as possible from its source, from those who make it to those who want to 33) _________ it. Radio, telegraph, television, and 34) _____ inventions brought competition for newspapers. So did the development of magazines and other means of communication. 35) ____ , this competition merely spurred the newspapers on. They quickly make use of the newer and faster means of communication to improve the 36) __ and thus the efficiency of their own operations. Today more newspapers are 37) ______________ and read than ever before. Competition also led newspapers to branch out into many other fields. Besides keeping readers 38) _____ of the latest news, today's newspapers educate and influence readers about politics and other important and serious matters. Newspapers influence readers' economic choices 39) ____ advertising. Most newspapers depend on advertising for their very
40) _____ . Newspapers are sold at a price that 41) _______ even a small fraction of the cost of production. The main 42) _____ of income for most newspapers is commercial advertising. The success in selling advertising depends on a newspaper's value to advertisers. This 43)_____ in terms of circulation. How many people read the newspaper? Circulation depends somewhat on the work of the circulation department and on the services or entertainment 44) _____________ in a newspaper's pages. But for the most part, circulation depends on a newspaper's value to readers as source of information 45) _____ the community, city, country, state, nation and world and even outer space.
33. A. make B. publish C. know 34.
A. another
B. other
C. one another
D. the other
35.
A. However
B. And
C. Therefore
D. So
36.
A. value
B. ratio
C. rate
D. speed
37.
A. spread
B. passed
C. printed
D. completed
38.
A. inform
B. be informed
C. to be informed
D. informed 39.
A. on
B. through
C. with
D. of
40.
A. forms
B. existence
C. contents
D. purpose 31. A. Just when B. While C. Soon after
D. Before 32. A. reason B. cause C. problem
D. purpose D. write
A. tries to cover
B. manages to cover
C. fails to cover
D. succeeds in
42.
A. source
B. origin
C. course
D. finance
43.
A. measures
B. measured
C. is measured
D. was measured
44.
A. offering
B. offered
C. which offered
D. to be offered
45.
A. by
B. with
C. at
D. about
Passage 4
The United States is well known for its network of major highways designed to help a driver get from one place to another in the shortest possible time. 46) _____ these wide modern roads are generally 47) ____ and well maintained, with 48) ______ sharp curves and straight sections, a direct route is not always the most 49) _____ one. Large highways often pass 50) _____ scenic areas and interesting small towns. Furthermore, these highways generally 51) ____ large urban centers, which means that they become crowded with 52) _________ traffic during rush hours, 53) ____ the "fast, direct" route becomes a very slow route.
However, there is almost always another route to take 54) ____ you are not in a hurry. Not far from the 55) _____ new "superhighways", there are often older, 56) _____ heavily traveled roads which go through the countryside. 57) _____ of these are good two lane roads; others are uneven roads curving through the country. These secondary routes may go up steep slopes, along high 58) _______ , or down frightening hillside to towns 59) _____ in deep valleys. Through these less direct routes, longer and slower, they generally go to places 60) _____ the air is clean and scenery is beautiful, and the driver may have a chance to get a fresh, clean view of the world.
A. Although
B. Since
C. Because
D. Therefore
47.
A. stable
B. splendid
C. smooth
D. complicated
48.
A. little
B. few
C. much
D. many
49.
A. terrible
B. possible
C. enjoyable
D. profitable
50.
A. to
B. into
C. over
D. by
51.
A. lead
B. connect
C. collect
D. communicate
52.
A. large
B. fast
C. high
D. heavy
53.
A. when
B. for
C. but
D. that
54.
A. unless
B. if
C. as
D. since
55.
A. relatively
B. regularly
C. respectively
D. reasonably
56.
A. and
B. less
C. more
D. or
57.
A. All
B. Several
C. Lots
D. Some
58.
A. rocks
B. cliffs
C. roads
D. paths
59.
A. lying
B. laying
C. laid
D. lied
60.
A. there
B. when
C. which
D. where
Passage 5
Early Tudor England was to a large extent self-sufficient. Practically all the necessities of life -food, clothing, fuel and housing -- were produced from native resources by native effort, and it was to 61) ____ these primary needs that the great mass of the population labored 62) _____ its daily tasks. Production was for the most part organized in innumerable small units. In the country the farm, the hamlet and the village lived on 63) ________ they could grow or make for themselves, and 64) ______ the sale of any surplus in the local market town, 65) ____________ in the towns craftsmen applied themselves to their one-man business, making the boots and shoes, the caps and the cloaks, the 66) ______ and harness of townsmen and countrymen 67) ________ . Once a week town and country would meet to make 68) _____ at a market which came 69) _____ realizing
the medieval idea of direct contact between producer and 70) _________ . This was the traditional economy, which was hardly altered for some centuries, and which set the 71) _____ of work and the standard of life of perhaps nice out of 72) _____ ten English men and women. The work was long and 73) _______ , and the standard of life achieved was almost 74) ____________ low. Most Englishmen lied by a diet which was often 75) _____ and always monotonous, wore coarse and
ill-fitting clothes which harbored dirt undermine, and lived in holes whose squalor would affront the modern slum dweller.
61.
A. settle
B. answer
C. satisfy
D. fill
62.
A. at
C. on
D. with
63.
A. which
B. what
C. whether
D. where
64.
A. with
B. by
C. on
D. for
65.
A. although
B. while
C. nevertheless
D. when
66.
A. machines
B. apparatus
C. equipment
D. implement
67.
A. similar
B. skin
C. like
D. alike
68.
A. exchange
B. bargain
C. dealing
D. ride
69.
A. close at
B. adjacent to
C. near to
D. near-by
70.
A. consumer
B. buyer
C. user
D. shopper
A. model
B. form
C. pattern
D. method
72.
A. every
B. each
C. the
D. other
73.
A. cruel
B. hard
C. ruthless
D. severe
74.
A. unimaginatively
B. unimaginably
C. imaginarily
D. unimaginedly
75.
A. weak
B. little
C. meager
D. sparse
Passage 6
Unlike most sports, which evolved over time from street games, basketball was designed by one man to suit a particular purpose. The man was Dr. James Naismith, and his purpose was to invent a vigorous game that could be played indoors in the winter.
In 1891, Naismith was an instructor at a training school, which trained physical education
instructors for the YMCAs. That year the school was trying 76) _____ up with a physical activity
that the men could enjoy 77) _____ the football and baseball seasons. None of the standard indoor activities 78) ______ their interest for long. Naismith was asked to solve the problem by the school.
He first tried to 79) _____ some of the popular outdoor sports, but they were all too rough. The
men were getting bruised form tackling each other and 80) ___________ hit with equipment. So, Naismith decided to invent a game that would incorporate the most common elements of outdoor team sports without having the real physical contact.
Most popular sports used a ball, so he chose a soccer ball because it was soft and large enough that it 81) ______ no equipment, such as a bat or a racket to hit it. Next he decided 82) ___________ an elevated goal, so that scoring world depend on skill and accuracy rather than on 83) _____ only. His goals were two peach baskets, 84) _____ to ten-foot-high balconies at each end of the gym. The basic 85) _____ of the game was to throw the ball into the basket. Naismith worth rules for
the game, 86) _____ of which, though with some small changes, are still 87) ______ effect. Basketball was an immediate success. The students 88) _____ it to their friends and the new sport quickly 89) ____ on. Today, basketball is one of the most popular games 90) _____ the world.
76.
A. to have come
B. coming
C. come
D. to come
77.
A. between
B. during
C. when
D. for
78.
A. roused
B. held
C. had
D. were
79.
A. imitate
B. adopt
C. adapt
D. renovate
80.
A. being
C. been
D. were
81.
A. requested
B. used
C. required
D. took
82.
A. on
B. to
C. of
D. with
83.
A. power
B. strength
C. force
D. might
84.
A. fixed
B. fixing
C. that fix
D. which fixed
85.
A. method
B. rule
C. way
D. idea
86.
A. few
B. much
C. many
D. little
87.
A. with
B. in
C. on
A. defined
B. spread
C. taught
D. discussed
89.
A. went
B. took
C. put
D. caught
90.
A. of
B. throughout
C. among
D. through
1. A
2. C
3. B
4. B
5. A
6. D
7. A
8. D
9. D
10. C
11. C
12. B
13. D
14. D
15. C
16. B
17. C
18. C
19. A
20. D
21. D
22. D
23. C
24. C
25. D
26. A
27. D
28. B
29. A
31. C
32. D
33. C
34. B
35. A
36. D
37. C
38. D
39. B
40. B
41. C
42. A
43. C
44. B
45. D
46. A
47. C
48. B
49. C
50. D
51. B
52. D
53. A
54. B
55. A
56. B
57. D
58. B
59. A
60. D
61. C
62. A
63. B
64. C
65. B
66. D
67. D
68. A
69. C
70. A
71. C
72. A
74. B
75. C
76. D
77. A
78. B
79. C
80. A
81. C
82. A
83. B
84. A
85. D
86. C
87. B
88. C
89. B
90. B
Cloze
Decide which of the choices given below would correctly complete the passage if inserted in the corresponding blanks. Select the correct choice for each blank.
Aesthetic thought of a distinctively modern bent emerged during the 18th century. The western philosophers and critics of this time devoted much attention to such matters (1) _________ natural beauty, the sublime, and representation -- a trend reflecting the central position they had given to
the philosophy of nature. (2) _____ that time, however, the philosophy of art has become ever more (3) ____ and has begun to (4) ____ the philosophy of nature. Various issues (5) _____ to the philosophy of art have had a (6) ________ impact (7) _____ the orientation of 20th-century aesthetics. (8) ______ among these are problems relating to the theory of art as form and
(9) _____ the distinction between representation and expression. Still another far-reaching
question has to do with the value of art. Two opposing theoretical positions (10) _____ on this issue: one holds that art and its appreciation are a means to some recognized moral good, (11)
the other maintains that art is intrinsically valuable and is an end in
itself. Underlying this whole issue is the concept of taste, one of the basic concerns of aesthetics. In recent years there has also been an increasing (12) ___________________ with art as the prime object of critical judgment. Corresponding to the trend in contemporary aesthetic thought, (13) have followed (14) ___________________ of two approaches. In one, criticism is restricted to the analysis and interpretation of the work of art. (15) ____________ , it is devoted to articulating the response to the aesthetic object and to (16) ___ a particular way of perceiving it.
Over the years, aesthetics has developed into a broad field of knowledge and inquiry. The concerns of contemporary aesthetics include such (17) _____________ problems as the nature of style and
its aesthetic significance; the relation of aesthetic judgment to culture; the (18) ____ of a history
of art; the (19) ____ of Freudian psychology and other forms of psychological study to criticism;
and the place of aesthetic judgment in practical (20) ____ in the conduct of everyday affairs.
1.
A. for
B. as
C. to
D. with 2.
A. Since
B. For
C. As
D. In
3.
A. promotional
B. promissory
C. promiscuous
D. prominent
4.
A. plant
B. supplant
C. transplant
D. replant
5.
A. central
B. concentrating
C. focusing
D. centering
6.
A. marking
B. remarking
C. marked
D. remarked
7.
A. on
B. for
C. in
D. to
8.
A. Forebodying
B. Foremost
C. Forethoughtful
D. Foregone
9.
A. for
B. for
C. to
D. on
10.
A. have brought
B. have been brought
C. have taken
D. have been taken
11.
A. whereas
B. wherein
C. whereon
D. wherefore
12.
A. preoccupancy
B. preoccupation
C. premonition
D. preoption
13.
A. artists
B. writers
C. critics
D. analysts
14.
A. all
B. either
C. neither
D. none
15.
A. In the other manner
B. In the other way
C. In another
D. In the other
16.
A. justify
B. justified
C. justifying
D. having justified
17.
A. diverse
B. divided
C. divine
D. dividual
18.
A. vicinity
B. viability
C. villainy
D. visibility
19.
A. reliance
B. reliability
C. relief
D. relevancy 20.
A. reason
B. reasonableness
C. reasoning
D. reasonability
1. B
2. A
3. D
4. B
5. A
6. C
7. A
8. B
9. C
10. D
11. A
12. B
13. C
14. B
15. D
16. C
17. A
18. B
19. D
20. C
Cloze
Decide which of the choices given below would correctly complete the passage if inserted in the corresponding blanks. Select the correct choice for each blank.
Painting, the execution of forms and shapes on a surface by means of pigment, has been continuously practiced by humans for some 20,000 years. Together with other activities (1) ritualistic in origin but have come to be designated as artistic (such as music or dance),
painting was one of the earliest ways in which man (2) ____ to express his own personality and
his (3) _____ understanding of an existence beyond the material world. (4) __________ music and dance, however, examples of early forms of painting have survived to the present day. The
modern eye can derive aesthetic as well as antiquarian satisfaction (5) ___ the 15,000-year-old cave murals of Lascaux -- some examples (6) ____ to the considerable powers of draftsmanship
of these early artists. And painting, like other arts, exhibits universal qualities that (7) _______ for viewers of all nations and civilizations to understand and appreciate.
The major (8) _____ examples of early painting anywhere in the world are found in Western Europe and the Soviet Union. But some 5,000 years ago, the areas in which important paintings were executed (9) ____ to the eastern Mediterranean Sea and neighboring regions. (10) _____ , Western shared a European cultural tradition -- the Middle East and Mediterranean Basin and, later, the countries of the New World.
Western painting is in general distinguished by its concentration (11) ____ the representation of
the human (12) ____ , whether in the heroic context of antiquity or the religious context of the
early Christian and medieval world. The Renaissance (13) ____________ this tradition through a (14) ____ examination of the natural world and an investigation of balance, harmony, and perspective in the visible world, linking painting (15) ____ the developing sciences of anatomy
and optics. The first real (16) ______ from figurative painting came with the growth of landscape painting in the 17th and 18th centuries. The landscape and figurative traditions developed together in the 19th century in an atmosphere that was increasingly (17) _____________ "painterly" qualities
of the (18) ____ of light and color and the expressive qualities of paint handling. In the 20th century these interests (19) ____ to the development of a third major tradition in Western painting, abstract painting, which sought to (20) _______ and express the true nature of paint and painting through action and form.
1.
A. may have been
B. that may have
C. may have
D. that may have been
2.
A. seek
B. sought
C. seek for
D. sought for
3.
A. emerging
B. emergency
C. merging
D. merger
4.
A. As
B. Unlike
C. Like
D. Since
5.
A. from
B. to
C. into
D. for
6.
A. ratify
B. testify
C. certify
D. gratify
7.
A. make easy
B. make it easy
C. make hard
D. make it hard
8.
A. extinct
B. extent
C. extant
D. exterior
9.
A. had shifted
B. have shifted
C. shifting
D. shifted
10.
A. Nevertheless
B. Moreover
C. However
D. Therefore
11.
A. to
B. in
C. on
D. for 12.
A. figure
B. shape
C. shadow
D. form
13.
A. extracted
B. extended
C. extorted
D. extruded
14.
A. closing
B. close
C. closed
D. closure
15.
A. on
B. for
C. in
D. to
16.
A. break
B. breakage
C. breakdown
D. breaking
17.
A. concerned with
B. concerning
C. concerning with
D. concerned for
18.
A. reaction
B. action
C. interaction
D. relation
19.
A. distributed
B. attributed
C. contributed
D. construed
20.
A. discover
B. uncover
C. recover
D. cover
1. D
2. B
3. A
4. B
5. A
6. B
7. B
8. C
9. D
10. D
11. C
12. A
13. B
14. B
15. D
16. A
17. A
18. C
19. C
20. B
Directions: Decide which of the choices given below would correctly complete the passage if inserted in the corresponding blanks. Select the correct choice for each blank.
Flight simulator ( 飞行模拟器) refers to any electronic or mechanical system for training airplane and spacecraft pilots and crew member by simulating flight conditions. The purpose of simulation is not to completely substitute (1) ________________________ actual flight training but to thoroughly familiarize students with the vehicle (2) ________ before they (3) ______ extensive and possibly dangerous actual flight training. Simulations also is useful for review and for familiarizing
pilots with new (4) ___ to existing craft.
Two early flight simulators appeared in England within a decade after the first flight of Orville and Wilbur Wright. They were designed to enable pilots to stimulate simple aircraft (5) ____________ in three dimensions: nose up or down; left wing high and right low, or vice versa; and (6) ___ to
left or right. It took until 1929, however, for a truly effective simulator, the Link Trainer, to appear, devised by Edwin A. Link, a self-educated aviator and inventor from Binghamton, New York. (7) , airplane instrumentation had been developed sufficiently to permit "blind"
flying on instruments alone, but training pilots to do so involved (8) ________ risk. Link built a model of an airplane cockpit equipped (9) _________ instrument panel and controls that could realistically stimulate all the movements of an airplane. Pilots could use the device for instrument training, manipulating the controls (10) _______________ instrument readings so as to maintain straight and level flight or (11) ______ climb or descent with no visual reference (12) _______ any horizon except for the artificial one on the instrument panel. The trainer was modified (13) aircraft technology advanced. Commercial airlines began to use the Link Trainer for pilot training, and the US government began purchasing them in 1934, (14) ____ thousands more
as World War II approached.
Technological advances during the war, particularly in electronics, helped to make the flight simulator increasingly (15) ____________ . The use of efficient analog computers in the early 1950s led
to further improvements. Airplane cockpits, controls, and instrument displays had by then become so individualized that it was no longer feasible to use a generalized trainer to prepare pilots to fly anything (16) ____________ the simplest light planes. By the 1950s, the US Air Force was using simulators that precisely (17) ______ the cockpits of its planes. During the early 1960s (18) ____ digital and hybrid computers were adopted, and their speed and flexibility
revolutionized simulation systems. Further advances in computer and (19) __________ technology, notably the development of virtual-reality simulation, have made it possible to (20) ____ highly complex real-life conditions.
1.
A. for
B. to
C. with
D. on
2.
A. concerning
B. concern
C. being concerned
D. concerned
3.
A. undertake
B. undergo
C. underplay
D. underuse
4.
A. models
B. modifications
C. modifiers
D. modica
5.
A. manifestations
B. manipulations
C. manifestoes
D. maneuvers
6.
A. yawling
B. yawning
C. yawing
D. yawping
7.
A. From then on
B. From now on
C. By now
D. By then
8.
A. considerable
B. considerate
C. considering
D. considered
9.
A. for
B. in
C. with
D. on
10.
A. on the part of
B. on the basis of
C. on the track of
D. on the verge of
11.
B. controllable
C. controlled
D. controller
12.
A. to
B. for
C. on
D. in
13.
A. as for
B. as to
C. as
D. for
14.
A. acquiring
B. requiring
C. sustaining
D. retaining
15.
A. actual
B. realistic
C. realizing
D. true
16.
A. except
B. except for
C. apart from
D. but
17.
A. replenished
B. replaced
C. replicated
D. reposed
18.
A. electronic
B. electric
D. electron
19.
A. program
B. programmable
C. programmed
D. programming
20.
A. resurrect
B. reproduce
C. resuscitate
D. resume
1. A
2. D
3. B
4. B
5. D
6. C
7. D
8. A
9. C
10. B
11. C
12. A
13. C
14. A
15. B
16. D
17. C
18. A
19. D
20. B。
