Passage 1
Directions: 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. You may not use any of the word in the bank more than once.
What is it about Americans and food? We love to eat, but we feel 1 about it afterward. We say we want only the best, but we strangely enjoy junk food. We’re 2 with health and weight loss but face an unprecedented epidemic of obesity(肥胖). Perhaps the 3 to this ambivalence(矛盾情结) lies in our history. The first Europeans came to this continent searching for new spices but went in vain. The first cash crop(经济作物) wasn’t eaten but smoked. Then there was Prohibition, intended to prohibit drinking but actually encouraging more 4 ways of doing it.
The immigrant experience, too, has been one of inharmony. Do as Romans do means eating what “real Americans” eat, but our nation’s food has come to be 5 by imports—pizza, say, or hot dogs. And some of the country’s most treasured cooking comes from people who arrived here in shackles.
Perhaps it should come as no surprise then that food has been a medium for the nation’s defining struggles, whether at the Boston Tea Party or the sitns at southern lunch counters. It is integral to our concepts of health and even morality whether one refrains from alcohol for religious reasons or evades meat for political 6 .
But strong opinions have not brought 7 . Americans are ambivalent about what they put in their mouths. We have become 8 of our foods, especially as we learn more about what they contain.
The 9 in food is still prosperous in the American consciousness. It’s no coincidence, then, that the first Thanksgiving holds the American imagination in such bondage(束缚). It’s what we eat—and how we 10 it with friends, family, and strangers—that help define America as a community today.
A. answer I. creative
B. result J. belief
C. share K. suspicious
D. guilty L. certainty
E. constant M. obsessed
F. defined N. identify
G. vanish O. ideals
H. adapted
答案及解析
1. D feel是一个系动词，可以判断此处应填入一个形容词，通过上下文意思，以及后面介词about, 可以确定选项为D项guilty, 短语feel guilty about sth. “对……感到有愧”。全句的意思为“我们很爱吃，但是往往在吃完之后又有负罪感”。
2.M be obsessed with 为固定搭配，原意为“被……附上/缠住/迷住心窍”，放在本句表示“十分重视”。全句的意思为“我们很关心健康和减肥，但肥胖却又空前地在蔓延”。
3. A 本句缺一个名词作主语，并且根据和介词to的搭配，可以推断出正确选项answer.
4. I本句根据more和ways可以判断出需要填入一个形容词构成比较级，根据上下文，表示“旨在禁止酗酒的禁酒令，却激发了更多新奇的方法来酗酒”，可以确定I为正确选项。
5. F 本题较难。根据be 和by 确定应填入一个过去分词。再根据上下文，上文表示“应该吃典型的美国人吃的食物”，下文通过 but 转折，表示实际上“美国的食物已经被诸如比萨和热狗这样的舶来品所诠释了”，因此可以确定F为正确选项。
6.B政治结果，可根据宗教原因religious reasons来推断此处填政治结果。
7. L由于横线后面没有宾语，可以确定不是形成bring的短语，这样本句所缺的为一名词，做bring的宾语。根据下文解释，“美国人对他们所吃的食物的态度是矛盾的”，可以推出本句意义为“坚定的观点也不是确定不变的”。因此可以确定L为正确选项。
8. K系动词become后应填入一个形容词，和后面介词of形成短语be/become suspicious of “对……感到怀疑”。
9. J本句缺一个名词作主语，并且根据和介词in的搭配，可以推断出正确选项belief，(have)belief in sth.“ 相信……”。
10. C本句是一般现在时，缺一个动词，且和with 搭配，确定选项为share, share sth. with sb., “与某人分享某事”。
Since its foundation in 1954, the United Nations has written into its major covenants(契约) the need to establish minimum ages for marriage. But the custom of marriage is a highly sensitive cultural issue, mainly because it is so unpleasantly involved with women’s rights and societal traditions and practices, and rules on marriage vary widely between countries. Some countries, particularly in West Africa, still do not have a legal minimum age for marriage.
In the West, a 13-year-old is still considered a child. Even getting married in one’s late teens is not usually encouraged because married life is likely to interfere with a young woman’s education and consequently restrict opportunities in later life. And there are also physical dangers in giving birth so young. The World Health Organization has over the past ten years identified early childbirth as a major cause of female mortality in many countries.
Under Islamic religious law, the age of consent for sex and marriage is puberty, which Muslims say is in harmony with the biological transition from childhood into adulthood. In Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran and Pakistan, the age of puberty at around 13 or 14 is the legal age for marriage, but in Turkey it is 15, and in Egypt and Tunisia, 18 the same minimum age as in many Western countries. It is argued that by allowing earlier marriages, Islamic law is promoting stable relationships, while Western laws are encouraging promiscuity among young people.
In many countries, the trends of urbanization and education for girls have seen a drop in the number of child brides. However, early marriages continue to occur in poor rural areas, where society works very much on personal arrangement between families, villages and communities. And it doesn’t only happen in countries which don’t have a legal minimum age. In India, for example, the legal age of marriage for a girl is 18 and to a boy, 21. Yet, according to government statistics, 18 percent of ten to fourteen-year old girls in the poor, rural state of Rajasthan in the northwest of the country are married. There are obvious social and economical advantages for doing this: by marrying off their daughters early, families no longer have to provide for them ; and the younger the bride the smaller the dowry(嫁妆), or wedding price, demanded by the groom’s family.
It is clear, then, that child marriages are connected with poverty, lack of education and rural customs such as dowries; there don’t tend to be any child marriages in urban or rich areas. So, unless these real causes are addressed, it will be extremely hard to enforce change, even when change is dictated by a country’s governing body. (451 words)
1. What is the topic of this passage?
A. Child brides.
B. Early marriages.
C. Minimum age for marriage.
D. Different attitudes towards early marriages.
2. The word “promiscuity”(Line 9, Para. 3) means__________.
A. unstable partnership B. firm partnership
C. diverse relationship D. single relationship
3. __________is likely to marry late.
A. Women from less educated background
B. Women from rural areas
C. Women from Islamic countries
D. Women from cities
4. Child marriages are NOT related to __________according to the passage.
A. social position B. rural customs
C. personal arrangements D. religion
5. According to the passage, getting married early does all of the following EXCEPT__________.
A. reducing a young woman’s education
B. limiting a young woman’s chances
C. causing infant death
D. doing harm to a young woman’s health
1.B 主旨题。本文列举了许多国家法定的最小结婚年龄及造成早婚的原因，所以，这篇文章的主题应是关于早婚。
2.C 词义猜测题。根据是第三段最后一句。
3.D 细节推断题。文中第四段的第一句里有此线索，即“In many countries, the trends …of child brides.”，由这句话判—项是正确的。
4.A 判断题。A项在本文中没有提到，故A项为答案。
5.C 细节题。C项意为“早育使婴儿死亡”，而C项在本文没有提到。故C项为正确选项。
The first step in exercising for most people is determining whether or not they should. This is particularly true with anyone over thirty-five, especially if they have been heavy smokers. Likewise, young adults who have been very inactive should proceed slowly and with caution. A physical evaluation from a physician is recommended, preferably one that includes an exercise-stress test. While a person is exercising, a stress test detects cardiovascular(心血管的) problems that might not show up when the body is at rest. This is done by monitoring blood pressure, pulse rate, oxygen consumption, and the heart’s electrical activity while exercising.
Whatever exercise program is selected, it is important to start with warm-up periods. These should include stretching exercises, jumping jacks(原地跳跃运动), or active walking. The idea is to increase heart rate and circulation slowly without placing a sudden strain on the heart or the muscles that are starting to work.
The next phase in developing an exercise program is to determine the amount of exercise that is enough to condition the muscles and cardiovascular system without overly straining the body. This involves taking one’s pulse and finding one’s target zone. This target zone, or safe-training pulse rate, is established by subtracting one’s age from 220 and then taking 60 percent to 80 percent of that total. If you are just starting to exercise 60 percent is recommended; 80 percent is recommended if you are already in good condition.
1.The author is primarily addressing ____.
A)a social worker
B)anyone who wants to take up exercise
C)any would-be sportsman
D)a physician who is in charge of physical checkups
2.What is NOT mentioned as a part of a stress test in Paragraph 1?
A)Watching the heart’s electrical activity.
B)Examining the blood pressure.
C)Observing oxygen consumption.
D)Increasing blood circulation
3.The word “overly”(Line 2, Para.3) in the context best means ____.
A)liable
B)excessively
C)extensive
D)readily
4.In order not to place much strain on the body, if you are a beginner and at the age of 45, the safe-training pulse rate suggested would be ____.
A)105
B)220
C)140
D)175
5.The author writes the passage mainly to recommend ____.
A)that heavy smokers should quit smoking for the sake of their health
B)that we should proceed with warm-up periods after doing exercises
C)that young adults should live an inactive life instead of doing exercises
D)that we should take up physical exercises in the light of our physical condition
1.B)anyone who wants to take up exercise. 从原文第一句The first step in exercising for most people is determining whether or not they should可以看出, 作者试图step by step地给anyone who wants to take up exercise提建议.
2.D)Increasing blood circulation. 参考原文第一段最后一句This is done by monitoring blood pressure(B), pulse rate, oxygen consumption(C), and the heart’s electrical activity(A) while exercising.
3.B)excessively, 翻译为“过量的”, 最适合.
4.A)105. 首先参考原文公式(220-age) ×60%~80%, 然后对照原文If you are just starting to exercise 60 percent is recommended得出算式(220-45) ×60%=105.
5.D)that we should take up physical exercises in the light of our physical condition. 错了要面壁哦~
P.S.>>有同学在回帖时说答案有问题，不权威。他说的一点没错，因为《四级标准阅读精解》只给出了标准答案，而关于标准答案的说明，是我自己加上去的。因为答案有时会出错，所以每发一期我都会先做一遍，于是顺便添加了我对答案的理解。大家如果觉得有帮助，可以作为参考;如果觉得有问题，可以在回复或讨论帖里提意见;如果完全不需要，请无视。我的水平很一般很一般，错误肯定不少，请大家多多包涵。
参考译文：
对多数人来说从事锻炼的第一步是确定是否应该参加锻炼。对于35岁以上的，特别是那些烟鬼更是如此。同样地，不爱活动的年轻人也应当循序渐进，谨慎从事。建议找医生做做身体检查，最好是做一个包括锻炼强度测试的检查。当一个人锻炼时，强度测试可以查出心血管毛病，这类毛病在身体不活跃时是不会表现出来的。这种方法是在锻炼时监视血压、脉率、氧耗及心电图的活动。
无论选择何种锻炼方案，重要的是先进行一下预备活动，包括伸展运动、原地跳跃运动或活动量大的步行。其目的是缓缓地增加心率和血液循环，而不至于给开始运动的心脏或肌肉造成突然的压力。
锻炼方案拟定的下一步是确定运动量，以便充分锻炼肌肉和心血管系统而不造成运动过量。这要求测脉搏，并找到个人的运动目标范围，这种目标范围又称安全训练脉率，是通过计算得到的，即220减年龄数，然后取差额的60%~80%。如果你刚开始锻炼，建议取60%，健康状况很佳时取80%。