不做“說話的巨人，行動的矮子”。說再多的漂亮話，也不如做一件實實在在的漂亮事，行動永遠是邁向成功的第一步，想永遠只會在原地踏步。以下是為大家整理的內(nèi)容，歡迎閱讀參考。
【篇一】2021年12月英語四級考試閱讀理解
It’s very interesting to note where the debate about diversity(多樣化) is taking place. It is taking place primarily in political circles. Here at the College Fund, we have a lot of contact with top corporate(公司的) leaders; none of them is talking about getting rid of those instruments that produce diversity. In fact, they say that if their companies are to compete in the global village and in the global market place,diversity. In fact, they say that if their companies are to compete in the global village and in the global market place, diversity is an imperative. They also say that the need for talented, skilled Americans means we have to expand the pool of potential employees. And in looking at where birth rates are growing andat where the population is shifting, corporate America understands that expanding the pool means promotingpolicies that help provide skills to more minorities, more women and more immigrants. Corporate leaders know that if that does not occur in our society, they will not have the engineers, the scientists, the lawyers, or the business managers they will need.
Likewise, I don’t hear people in the academy saying.”Let’s go backward. Let’s go back to the good old days, when we had a meritocracy(不拘一格選人才)” (which was never true-we never had a meritocracy, although we’ve come closer to it in the last 30 years.) I recently visited a great little college in New York where the campus has doubled its minority population in the last six years. I talked with an African American who has been a professor there for a long time, and she remembers that when she first joined the community, there were fewer than a handful of minorities on campus. Now, all of us feel the university is betterbecause corporate board rooms or on college campuses.
練習題：
Choose correct answers to the question:
1.The word”imperative”(Line5,Para.1) most probably refers to something _____
A.Superficial
B.remarkable
C.debatable
D.essential
2.Which of the following groups of people still differ in their views on diversity?
A. Minorities.
B. Politicians.
C. Professors.
D. Managers.
3.High corporate leaders seem to be in favor of promoting diversity so as to ______
A. lower the rate of unemployment
B. win equal political rights for minorities
C. be competitive in the world market
D. satisfy the demands of a growing population
4.It can be inferred from the passage that _____
A. meritocracy can never be realized without diversity
B. American political circles will not accept diversity
C. it is unlikely that diversity will occur in the U.S. Media
D. minorities can only enter the fields were no debate is heard about diversity
5.According to the passage diversity can be achieved in American society by ____
A. expanding the pool of potential employees
B. promoting policies that provide skills to employees
C. training more engineers, scientists lawyers and business managers
D. providing education for all regardless of race or sex
1.[D] 詞義理解題。本句說到公司要在地球村和全球市場上競爭，多樣性是imperative，由前文“沒有取消引起多樣性的手段”和下文提到的公司對各種各樣有技能的美國人的需求可知，多樣性對于企業(yè)來說應該“必需的”故D正確。
2.[B] 事實細節(jié)題。第2段末句指出這種辯論主要存在于政治圈和媒體中，結(jié)合上句內(nèi)容，可知其中的this debate指的就是關于多樣性的辯論，故B正確。
3.[C] 事實細節(jié)題。由第1段第4句可知，公司高層領導人促進多樣化的原因是想要在全球市場上更具競爭力，C與此相符。
4.[A] 推理判斷題。第2段中提到有些人認為在沒有多樣性的過去照樣能做到不拘—格選人才，但作者馬上which was never true否定此觀點，故A正確。第2段只提到多樣性的辯論存在于政治圈和媒體，但并不代 表在這兩個圈子里不能接受或從未出現(xiàn)多樣性，故排除B、C;D說法過于絕對,且在文中找不到依據(jù)，也可排除。
5.[D] 推理判斷埋。由第1段倒數(shù)第2句可知企業(yè)expand the pool就意味著向more minorities，more women 和 more immigrants提供技能培訓，而expand the pool對應的就是題干中的說的多樣性的形成，D中的race 和sex分別對文中minorities和women，故正確。A泛泛而談，沒有說到點子上，不如D具體、準確;B與多樣性沒有關系，C是利用文中的有關職業(yè)的詞拼湊而成的干擾項。
【篇二】2021年12月英語四級考試閱讀理解
There is no denying that students should learn something about how computers work, just as we expect them at least to understand that the internal-combustion engine(內(nèi)燃機)has something to do with burning fuel, expanding gases and pistons (活塞)being driven. For people should have some basic idea of how the things that they use do what they do. Further, students might be helped by a course that considers the computer’s impact on society. But that is not what is meant by computer literacy. For computer literacy is not a formof literacy (讀寫能力);it is a trade skill that should not be taught as a liberal art.
Learning how to use a computer and learning how to program one are two distinct activities. A case might be made that the competent citizens of tomorrow should free themselves from their fear of computers. But this is quite different from saying that all ought to know how to program one. Leave that to people who havechosen programming as a career. While programming can be lots of fun, and while our society needs some people who are experts at it, the same is true of auto repair and violin-making.
Learning how to use a computer is not that difficult, and it gets easier all the time as programs become more “user-friendly”. Let us assume that in the future everyone is going to have to know how to use a computer to be a competent citizen. What does the phrase learning to use a computer mean? It sounds like “l(fā)earning to drive a car", that is, it sounds as if there is some set of definite skills that, once acquired,enable one to use a computer.
In fact, "learning to use a computer" is much more like “l(fā)earning to play a game”,but learning the rulesof one game may not help you play a second game, whose rules may not be the same. There is no such a thingas teaching someone how to use a computer. One can only teach people to use this or that program and generally that is easily accomplished.
練習題：
Choose correct answers to the question:
1.To be the competent citizens of tomorrow, people should _______.
A. try to lay a solid foundation in computer science
B. be aware of how the things that they use do what they do
C. learn to use a computer by acquiring a certain set of skills
D. understand that programming a computer is more essential than repairing a car
2. In the second paragraph“auto repair”and“violin-making”are mentioned to show that _______ .
A. programming a computer is as interesting as making a violin
B. our society needs experts in different fields
C. violin making requires as much skill as computer programming
D. people who can use a computer don't necessarily have to know computer programming
3. Learning to use a computer is getting easier all the time because _______ .
A. programs are becoming less complicated
B. programs are designed to be convenient to users
C. programming is becoming easier and easier
D. programs are becoming readily available to computer users
4. According to the author,the phrase“l(fā)earning to use a computer”(Lines3,4,Para.3) means learning _______.
A. a set of rules B. the fundamentals of computer science
C. specific programs D. general principles of programming
5. The author's purpose in writing this passage is _______.
A. to stress the impact of the computer on society
B. to explain the concept of computer literacy
C. to illustrate the requirements for being competent citizens of tomorrow
D. to emphasize that computer programming is an interesting and challenging job
1.[C] 推理判斷題。第2段提到未來有能力的人應該從恐懼中解脫出來，第3段則提到學習計算機則就像是“學開車”一樣，只要掌握某套技能即可，故可知有能力的人只需要通過掌握技能學習計算機即可，而不必學習編程，故C正確。
2.[D] 詞義理解題。在第2段中，作者強調(diào)一般人只需學會使用計算機，而不必學會編程，后指出這與“汽車修理”和“小提琴制作”一樣，可見作者提到“汽車修理”(類似一般人使用計算機)和“小提琴創(chuàng)作”(數(shù)似于電 腦專業(yè)人員編程)還是為了說明上文的觀點，故D正確。
3.[B] 事實細節(jié)題。第3段首句提到學習使用計算機越來越容易的原因是計算機編程變得更user-friendly, B中的convenient to users與此相符，故正確。
4.[C] 句意理解題。第4段指出教人學習使用計算機就是教人use this or that program，故C與此相符。
5.[B] 主旨大意題。本文圍繞學生應如何學習計算機，闡述計算機能力(computer literacy)的概念;它只是一種技能,故B正確。A、C、D均只是利用文中的片言只語拼湊而成的干擾項，不足以概括文章大意。
【篇三】2021年12月英語四級考試閱讀理解
Like fine food, good writing is something we approach with pleasure and enjoy from the first taste to the last. And good writers, like good cooks, do not suddenly appear full-blown. Quite the opposite, just as the cook has to undergo a particular training, mastering the skills of his trade, the writer must sit at hisdesk and devote long hours to achieving a style in his writing, whatever its purpose is—schoolwork, matters of business, or purely social communication.
You may be sure that the more painstaking the effort, the more effective the writing, and the more rewarding.
There are still some faraway places in the world where you might find a public scribe to do your business or social writing for you, for money. There are a few managers who are lucky enough to have the service ofthat rare kind of secretary who can take care of all sorts of letter writing with no more than a quick note to work from. But for most of us, if there is any writing to be done, we have to do it ourselves.
We have to write school papers, business papers or home papers. We are constantly called on to put words to papers. It would be difficult to count the number of such words, messages, letters, and reports put intomails or delivered by hand, but the daily figures must be extremely large. What is more, everyone who writes expects, or at least hopes whatever he writes will be read, from first word to last, not just thrown into some “l(fā)etters-to-be-read” files or into a wastepaper basket. This is the reason we bend our efforts toward learning and practicing the skills of interesting, effective writing.
練習題：
Choose correct answers to the question:
1. In this passage, good writing is compared to fine food in that _______.
A. both writers and cooks have to work a long time every day
B. both are essential to life
C. both are writers and cooks can earn a good living
D. both are enjoyable
2. A public "scribe" (Para 2, Line 1) is _____.
A.a secretary who does your business or social writing
B. a machine that does writing for you
C. a public school where writing is taught
D. a person who ears a living by writing for others
3. According to the passage, some managers don't have to do any letter writing because _____.
A. they rely on quick notes C. they have a computer to do it
B. they have excellent secretaries D. they prefer making phone calls
4. According to the author, if your letter is thrown into some "letter-to-be-read" file, ______.
A. it will receive immediate attention
B. it will be dealt with by the secretary
C. it is likely to be neglected
D. it is meant to be delivered soon
40. The purpose of the author in writing this passage is _____.
A. to explain and persuade
B. to comment and criticize
C. to interest and entertain
D. to argue and demonstrate
1.[D] 文章首句提到，如同美味的食物,我們可以從好的作品中獲得樂趣和享受，D與之相符，故為答案。
2.[D] 原文第2段首句提到，這種public scribe會幫你寫商業(yè)文件或社會交流文章，但他們也會收費的，D與之相符A中的secretary應該是不收貴的，故排除;D中的machine與文中的remote places不相符，故也可排除。
3.[B] 文章第2段第2句提到，個別幸運的經(jīng)理只需寫下簡便的筆記,其秘書就會寫好所有的信件，因此B為答案。
4.[C] 文章第3段倒數(shù)第2句的大意是：我們希望自己寫的東西能被人從頭到尾地讀，能不被扔進“l(fā)etters-to-be read” file,且根據(jù)下文的a wastepaper basket可推測這里說的是希望自己寫的東西不被忽視，故本題應選C。
5.[A] 由文章的結(jié)尾的this is the reason，知道作者有“解釋”的目的，同時他說“我們要盡大的努力學習和練習有趣、有效地寫作的技巧”，可知有persuade(說服)的目的,故選A。
【篇四】2021年12月英語四級考試閱讀理解
On average, American kids ages 3 to 12 spent 29 hours a week in school, eight hours more that they did in 1981. They also did more household work and participated in more of such organized activities as soccer and ballet (芭蕾舞). Involvement in sports, in particular, rose almost 50% from 1981 to 1997: boys now spendan average of four hours a week playing sports; girls log hall that time. All in all, however, children’sleisure time dropped from 40% of the day in 1981 to 25%
“Children are affected by the same time crunch (危機) that affects their parents,” says Sandra Hofferth,who headed the recent study of children’s timetable. A chief reason, she says, is that more mothers are working outside the home. (Nevertheless, children in both double-income and “male breadwinner” householdsspent comparable amounts of time interacting with their parents 19 hours and 22 hours respectively. In contrast, children spent only 9 hours with their single mothers.)
All work and no play could make for some very messed-up kids. “Play is the most powerful way a child explores the world and learns about himself,” says T. Berry Brazelton, professor at Harvard Medical School Unstructured play encourages independent thinking and allows the young to negotiate their relationships withtheir peers, but kids ages 3 to 12 spent only 12 hours a week engaged in it.
The children sampled spent a quarter of their rapidly decreasing “free time” watching television. But that, believe it or not, was one of the findings parents might regard as good news. If they’re spending less time in front of the TV set, however, kids aren’t replacing it with reading. Despite efforts to get kids more interested in books, the children spent just over an hour a week reading. Let’s face it, who’s got the time?
練習題：
Choose correct answers to the question:
1. By mentioning “the same time crunch” (Line 1, Para. 2) Sandra Hofferth means ________.
A. children have little time to play with their parents
B. children are not taken good care of by their working parents
C. both parents and children suffer from lack of leisure time
D. both parents and children have trouble managing their time
2. According to the author, the reason given by Sandra Hofferth for the time crunch is ________.
A. quite convincing
B. partially true
C. totally groundless
D. rather confusing
3. According to the author a child develops better if ________.
A. he has plenty of time reading and studying
B. he is left to play with his peers in his own way
C. he has more time participating in school activities
D. he is free to interact with his working parents
4. The author is concerned about the fact that American kids ________.
A. are engaged in more and more structured activities
B. are increasingly neglected by their working mothers
C. are spending more and more time watching TV
D. are involved less and less in household work
5. We can infer from the passage that ________.
A. extracurricular activities promote children’s intelligence
B. most children will turn to reading with TV sets switched off
C. efforts to get kids interested in reading have been fruitful
D. most parents believe reading to be beneficial to children
1.[C] 語義理解題。該短語所在句子的上文(第1段后一句)表明“孩子的課余時間比以前少了”,而本句指出父母和孩子都受time crunch的影響，可見the same time crunch是指空閑時間不夠用，故C正確。
2.[B] 觀點態(tài)度題。第2段第2句中括號里的內(nèi)容表明了作者的觀點。轉(zhuǎn)折詞Nevertheless說明作者的觀點跟上文Sandra Hofferth的看法不完全一致，而作者在下文舉例中提到，單身母親因為要上班，與孩子在起的時間只有9個小時，確實少了很多，這與Hofferth所述一致，因此選B。
3.[B] 事實細節(jié)題。第3段后一句表明孩子自由玩樂能促使他們獨立思考，并使他們學會處理與同齡關系，其中unstructured play 相當于B中的play in his own way，故B正確。
4.[A] 觀點態(tài)度題。文章一開頭作者就說孩子們比1981年時上學的時間每周多8小時，他們還做更多的家務,參加更多的有組織性的活動等等,而這些均是造成孩子們空閑時間越來越少的原因，而孩子們空閑時間少也正是作者憂慮的問題，故可推知本題選A。B是作者在第2段括號里反駁過的觀點;C錯在more and more time，而且作者對孩子看電視也不完全反對;孩子們事實上要做更多家務，故D錯。
5.[D] 推理判斷題。文章后一段倒數(shù)第2句說“盡管父母費盡心思培養(yǎng)孩子的讀書興趣，可孩子們一周也只不過花一個多小時讀書”。由此可見,父母認為讀書對孩子有好處，即D。A中的extracurricular activities包含 structured and unstructured activities，文中只說unstructured activities有助于培養(yǎng)孩子獨立思考以及與同齡人交往的能力，沒有說structured activities對intelligence有什么幫助;B與文章的倒數(shù)第3句不符;C與倒數(shù)第2句不符。
【篇一】2021年12月英語四級考試閱讀理解
It’s very interesting to note where the debate about diversity(多樣化) is taking place. It is taking place primarily in political circles. Here at the College Fund, we have a lot of contact with top corporate(公司的) leaders; none of them is talking about getting rid of those instruments that produce diversity. In fact, they say that if their companies are to compete in the global village and in the global market place,diversity. In fact, they say that if their companies are to compete in the global village and in the global market place, diversity is an imperative. They also say that the need for talented, skilled Americans means we have to expand the pool of potential employees. And in looking at where birth rates are growing andat where the population is shifting, corporate America understands that expanding the pool means promotingpolicies that help provide skills to more minorities, more women and more immigrants. Corporate leaders know that if that does not occur in our society, they will not have the engineers, the scientists, the lawyers, or the business managers they will need.
Likewise, I don’t hear people in the academy saying.”Let’s go backward. Let’s go back to the good old days, when we had a meritocracy(不拘一格選人才)” (which was never true-we never had a meritocracy, although we’ve come closer to it in the last 30 years.) I recently visited a great little college in New York where the campus has doubled its minority population in the last six years. I talked with an African American who has been a professor there for a long time, and she remembers that when she first joined the community, there were fewer than a handful of minorities on campus. Now, all of us feel the university is betterbecause corporate board rooms or on college campuses.
練習題：
Choose correct answers to the question:
1.The word”imperative”(Line5,Para.1) most probably refers to something _____
A.Superficial
B.remarkable
C.debatable
D.essential
2.Which of the following groups of people still differ in their views on diversity?
A. Minorities.
B. Politicians.
C. Professors.
D. Managers.
3.High corporate leaders seem to be in favor of promoting diversity so as to ______
A. lower the rate of unemployment
B. win equal political rights for minorities
C. be competitive in the world market
D. satisfy the demands of a growing population
4.It can be inferred from the passage that _____
A. meritocracy can never be realized without diversity
B. American political circles will not accept diversity
C. it is unlikely that diversity will occur in the U.S. Media
D. minorities can only enter the fields were no debate is heard about diversity
5.According to the passage diversity can be achieved in American society by ____
A. expanding the pool of potential employees
B. promoting policies that provide skills to employees
C. training more engineers, scientists lawyers and business managers
D. providing education for all regardless of race or sex
1.[D] 詞義理解題。本句說到公司要在地球村和全球市場上競爭，多樣性是imperative，由前文“沒有取消引起多樣性的手段”和下文提到的公司對各種各樣有技能的美國人的需求可知，多樣性對于企業(yè)來說應該“必需的”故D正確。
2.[B] 事實細節(jié)題。第2段末句指出這種辯論主要存在于政治圈和媒體中，結(jié)合上句內(nèi)容，可知其中的this debate指的就是關于多樣性的辯論，故B正確。
3.[C] 事實細節(jié)題。由第1段第4句可知，公司高層領導人促進多樣化的原因是想要在全球市場上更具競爭力，C與此相符。
4.[A] 推理判斷題。第2段中提到有些人認為在沒有多樣性的過去照樣能做到不拘—格選人才，但作者馬上which was never true否定此觀點，故A正確。第2段只提到多樣性的辯論存在于政治圈和媒體，但并不代 表在這兩個圈子里不能接受或從未出現(xiàn)多樣性，故排除B、C;D說法過于絕對,且在文中找不到依據(jù)，也可排除。
5.[D] 推理判斷埋。由第1段倒數(shù)第2句可知企業(yè)expand the pool就意味著向more minorities，more women 和 more immigrants提供技能培訓，而expand the pool對應的就是題干中的說的多樣性的形成，D中的race 和sex分別對文中minorities和women，故正確。A泛泛而談，沒有說到點子上，不如D具體、準確;B與多樣性沒有關系，C是利用文中的有關職業(yè)的詞拼湊而成的干擾項。
【篇二】2021年12月英語四級考試閱讀理解
There is no denying that students should learn something about how computers work, just as we expect them at least to understand that the internal-combustion engine(內(nèi)燃機)has something to do with burning fuel, expanding gases and pistons (活塞)being driven. For people should have some basic idea of how the things that they use do what they do. Further, students might be helped by a course that considers the computer’s impact on society. But that is not what is meant by computer literacy. For computer literacy is not a formof literacy (讀寫能力);it is a trade skill that should not be taught as a liberal art.
Learning how to use a computer and learning how to program one are two distinct activities. A case might be made that the competent citizens of tomorrow should free themselves from their fear of computers. But this is quite different from saying that all ought to know how to program one. Leave that to people who havechosen programming as a career. While programming can be lots of fun, and while our society needs some people who are experts at it, the same is true of auto repair and violin-making.
Learning how to use a computer is not that difficult, and it gets easier all the time as programs become more “user-friendly”. Let us assume that in the future everyone is going to have to know how to use a computer to be a competent citizen. What does the phrase learning to use a computer mean? It sounds like “l(fā)earning to drive a car", that is, it sounds as if there is some set of definite skills that, once acquired,enable one to use a computer.
In fact, "learning to use a computer" is much more like “l(fā)earning to play a game”,but learning the rulesof one game may not help you play a second game, whose rules may not be the same. There is no such a thingas teaching someone how to use a computer. One can only teach people to use this or that program and generally that is easily accomplished.
練習題：
Choose correct answers to the question:
1.To be the competent citizens of tomorrow, people should _______.
A. try to lay a solid foundation in computer science
B. be aware of how the things that they use do what they do
C. learn to use a computer by acquiring a certain set of skills
D. understand that programming a computer is more essential than repairing a car
2. In the second paragraph“auto repair”and“violin-making”are mentioned to show that _______ .
A. programming a computer is as interesting as making a violin
B. our society needs experts in different fields
C. violin making requires as much skill as computer programming
D. people who can use a computer don't necessarily have to know computer programming
3. Learning to use a computer is getting easier all the time because _______ .
A. programs are becoming less complicated
B. programs are designed to be convenient to users
C. programming is becoming easier and easier
D. programs are becoming readily available to computer users
4. According to the author,the phrase“l(fā)earning to use a computer”(Lines3,4,Para.3) means learning _______.
A. a set of rules B. the fundamentals of computer science
C. specific programs D. general principles of programming
5. The author's purpose in writing this passage is _______.
A. to stress the impact of the computer on society
B. to explain the concept of computer literacy
C. to illustrate the requirements for being competent citizens of tomorrow
D. to emphasize that computer programming is an interesting and challenging job
1.[C] 推理判斷題。第2段提到未來有能力的人應該從恐懼中解脫出來，第3段則提到學習計算機則就像是“學開車”一樣，只要掌握某套技能即可，故可知有能力的人只需要通過掌握技能學習計算機即可，而不必學習編程，故C正確。
2.[D] 詞義理解題。在第2段中，作者強調(diào)一般人只需學會使用計算機，而不必學會編程，后指出這與“汽車修理”和“小提琴制作”一樣，可見作者提到“汽車修理”(類似一般人使用計算機)和“小提琴創(chuàng)作”(數(shù)似于電 腦專業(yè)人員編程)還是為了說明上文的觀點，故D正確。
3.[B] 事實細節(jié)題。第3段首句提到學習使用計算機越來越容易的原因是計算機編程變得更user-friendly, B中的convenient to users與此相符，故正確。
4.[C] 句意理解題。第4段指出教人學習使用計算機就是教人use this or that program，故C與此相符。
5.[B] 主旨大意題。本文圍繞學生應如何學習計算機，闡述計算機能力(computer literacy)的概念;它只是一種技能,故B正確。A、C、D均只是利用文中的片言只語拼湊而成的干擾項，不足以概括文章大意。
【篇三】2021年12月英語四級考試閱讀理解
Like fine food, good writing is something we approach with pleasure and enjoy from the first taste to the last. And good writers, like good cooks, do not suddenly appear full-blown. Quite the opposite, just as the cook has to undergo a particular training, mastering the skills of his trade, the writer must sit at hisdesk and devote long hours to achieving a style in his writing, whatever its purpose is—schoolwork, matters of business, or purely social communication.
You may be sure that the more painstaking the effort, the more effective the writing, and the more rewarding.
There are still some faraway places in the world where you might find a public scribe to do your business or social writing for you, for money. There are a few managers who are lucky enough to have the service ofthat rare kind of secretary who can take care of all sorts of letter writing with no more than a quick note to work from. But for most of us, if there is any writing to be done, we have to do it ourselves.
We have to write school papers, business papers or home papers. We are constantly called on to put words to papers. It would be difficult to count the number of such words, messages, letters, and reports put intomails or delivered by hand, but the daily figures must be extremely large. What is more, everyone who writes expects, or at least hopes whatever he writes will be read, from first word to last, not just thrown into some “l(fā)etters-to-be-read” files or into a wastepaper basket. This is the reason we bend our efforts toward learning and practicing the skills of interesting, effective writing.
練習題：
Choose correct answers to the question:
1. In this passage, good writing is compared to fine food in that _______.
A. both writers and cooks have to work a long time every day
B. both are essential to life
C. both are writers and cooks can earn a good living
D. both are enjoyable
2. A public "scribe" (Para 2, Line 1) is _____.
A.a secretary who does your business or social writing
B. a machine that does writing for you
C. a public school where writing is taught
D. a person who ears a living by writing for others
3. According to the passage, some managers don't have to do any letter writing because _____.
A. they rely on quick notes C. they have a computer to do it
B. they have excellent secretaries D. they prefer making phone calls
4. According to the author, if your letter is thrown into some "letter-to-be-read" file, ______.
A. it will receive immediate attention
B. it will be dealt with by the secretary
C. it is likely to be neglected
D. it is meant to be delivered soon
40. The purpose of the author in writing this passage is _____.
A. to explain and persuade
B. to comment and criticize
C. to interest and entertain
D. to argue and demonstrate
1.[D] 文章首句提到，如同美味的食物,我們可以從好的作品中獲得樂趣和享受，D與之相符，故為答案。
2.[D] 原文第2段首句提到，這種public scribe會幫你寫商業(yè)文件或社會交流文章，但他們也會收費的，D與之相符A中的secretary應該是不收貴的，故排除;D中的machine與文中的remote places不相符，故也可排除。
3.[B] 文章第2段第2句提到，個別幸運的經(jīng)理只需寫下簡便的筆記,其秘書就會寫好所有的信件，因此B為答案。
4.[C] 文章第3段倒數(shù)第2句的大意是：我們希望自己寫的東西能被人從頭到尾地讀，能不被扔進“l(fā)etters-to-be read” file,且根據(jù)下文的a wastepaper basket可推測這里說的是希望自己寫的東西不被忽視，故本題應選C。
5.[A] 由文章的結(jié)尾的this is the reason，知道作者有“解釋”的目的，同時他說“我們要盡大的努力學習和練習有趣、有效地寫作的技巧”，可知有persuade(說服)的目的,故選A。
【篇四】2021年12月英語四級考試閱讀理解
On average, American kids ages 3 to 12 spent 29 hours a week in school, eight hours more that they did in 1981. They also did more household work and participated in more of such organized activities as soccer and ballet (芭蕾舞). Involvement in sports, in particular, rose almost 50% from 1981 to 1997: boys now spendan average of four hours a week playing sports; girls log hall that time. All in all, however, children’sleisure time dropped from 40% of the day in 1981 to 25%
“Children are affected by the same time crunch (危機) that affects their parents,” says Sandra Hofferth,who headed the recent study of children’s timetable. A chief reason, she says, is that more mothers are working outside the home. (Nevertheless, children in both double-income and “male breadwinner” householdsspent comparable amounts of time interacting with their parents 19 hours and 22 hours respectively. In contrast, children spent only 9 hours with their single mothers.)
All work and no play could make for some very messed-up kids. “Play is the most powerful way a child explores the world and learns about himself,” says T. Berry Brazelton, professor at Harvard Medical School Unstructured play encourages independent thinking and allows the young to negotiate their relationships withtheir peers, but kids ages 3 to 12 spent only 12 hours a week engaged in it.
The children sampled spent a quarter of their rapidly decreasing “free time” watching television. But that, believe it or not, was one of the findings parents might regard as good news. If they’re spending less time in front of the TV set, however, kids aren’t replacing it with reading. Despite efforts to get kids more interested in books, the children spent just over an hour a week reading. Let’s face it, who’s got the time?
練習題：
Choose correct answers to the question:
1. By mentioning “the same time crunch” (Line 1, Para. 2) Sandra Hofferth means ________.
A. children have little time to play with their parents
B. children are not taken good care of by their working parents
C. both parents and children suffer from lack of leisure time
D. both parents and children have trouble managing their time
2. According to the author, the reason given by Sandra Hofferth for the time crunch is ________.
A. quite convincing
B. partially true
C. totally groundless
D. rather confusing
3. According to the author a child develops better if ________.
A. he has plenty of time reading and studying
B. he is left to play with his peers in his own way
C. he has more time participating in school activities
D. he is free to interact with his working parents
4. The author is concerned about the fact that American kids ________.
A. are engaged in more and more structured activities
B. are increasingly neglected by their working mothers
C. are spending more and more time watching TV
D. are involved less and less in household work
5. We can infer from the passage that ________.
A. extracurricular activities promote children’s intelligence
B. most children will turn to reading with TV sets switched off
C. efforts to get kids interested in reading have been fruitful
D. most parents believe reading to be beneficial to children
1.[C] 語義理解題。該短語所在句子的上文(第1段后一句)表明“孩子的課余時間比以前少了”,而本句指出父母和孩子都受time crunch的影響，可見the same time crunch是指空閑時間不夠用，故C正確。
2.[B] 觀點態(tài)度題。第2段第2句中括號里的內(nèi)容表明了作者的觀點。轉(zhuǎn)折詞Nevertheless說明作者的觀點跟上文Sandra Hofferth的看法不完全一致，而作者在下文舉例中提到，單身母親因為要上班，與孩子在起的時間只有9個小時，確實少了很多，這與Hofferth所述一致，因此選B。
3.[B] 事實細節(jié)題。第3段后一句表明孩子自由玩樂能促使他們獨立思考，并使他們學會處理與同齡關系，其中unstructured play 相當于B中的play in his own way，故B正確。
4.[A] 觀點態(tài)度題。文章一開頭作者就說孩子們比1981年時上學的時間每周多8小時，他們還做更多的家務,參加更多的有組織性的活動等等,而這些均是造成孩子們空閑時間越來越少的原因，而孩子們空閑時間少也正是作者憂慮的問題，故可推知本題選A。B是作者在第2段括號里反駁過的觀點;C錯在more and more time，而且作者對孩子看電視也不完全反對;孩子們事實上要做更多家務，故D錯。
5.[D] 推理判斷題。文章后一段倒數(shù)第2句說“盡管父母費盡心思培養(yǎng)孩子的讀書興趣，可孩子們一周也只不過花一個多小時讀書”。由此可見,父母認為讀書對孩子有好處，即D。A中的extracurricular activities包含 structured and unstructured activities，文中只說unstructured activities有助于培養(yǎng)孩子獨立思考以及與同齡人交往的能力，沒有說structured activities對intelligence有什么幫助;B與文章的倒數(shù)第3句不符;C與倒數(shù)第2句不符。